Medical cannabis prescriptions for telemedicine could come to Florida under a new bill

Discreet prescription refills via telemedicine visits are already the norm for medications like hair loss and erectile dysfunction medication for men, which is easier to accomplish when not done in person. The same methods could be used to discreetly and quietly obtain medicinal cannabis prescriptions under a new Florida bill.

House Bill 387 is sponsored by Spencer Roach (R-North Fort Myers) and would allow practitioners to certify medicinal cannabis patients via FaceTime, Skype, etc. rather than through in-person visits. Roach told the House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee that the bill “would treat this (medical marijuana) like any other drug.”

Doctors in Florida do it anyway, and the bill would simply make the practice legal, lawmakers said in so many words. It would also organize the way the rules are enforced. The bill “would add a necessary and immediate tool to help the department when doctors break the rules,” Roach added.

Barry Gordon specializes in medical cannabis supply in Venice, Florida. He told the House panel that using telemedicine for certification would benefit some of Florida’s sickest residents — those who need it most.

“It’s a cost saving for patients, it’s safe for patients and it’s vitally important,” Gordon said at the hearing. “You have to remember that sometimes our patients are the most vulnerable and vulnerable patients here in Florida.”

The Tampa Bay Times reports that over 2,500 Florida doctors have completed the training that allows them to order medicinal cannabis for patients. Voters said yes in 2016 by approving a constitutional amendment legalizing medicinal cannabis. To date, nearly 800,000 patients have been certified for medicinal cannabis.

Currently, doctors are required to perform a physical exam on a patient “while physically present in the same room as the patient” before certifying them and ordering medicinal cannabis.

However, not that fast. The bill would also allow the Department of Health to bar a physician from ordering medical cannabis for up to two years if he or she “provides, promotes, or markets telemedicine services before July 1, 2023.”

Senator Jason Brodeur (R-Sanford) submitted a similar bill for consideration during the 60-day legislative session.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended the state’s in-person medical cannabis requirement due to COVID-19, but it only applied to patients seeking to renew medical cannabis certifications. People who have to see new doctors are unlucky. DeSantis’ executive order expired in 2021, but some doctors are still using telemedicine to recertify patients.

Medicinal cannabis in Florida

The Florida Department of Health recently announced that it will open a new licensing round for medical marijuana companies that will double the number of vertically integrated cannabis companies in the state. In an emergency rule, the Department of Health announced that 22 new medical cannabis business licenses would become available, a move that would double the 22 operators currently licensed to produce and sell medical marijuana in Florida. The new emergency rule comes more than six years after Florida voters legalized the medicinal use of cannabis.

In the meantime, according to the State Division of Elections website, the WISE & Free Florida committee is attempting to make Florida native via a proposal on the 2024 ballot. To do this, they would have to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures.

Similarly, Smart & Safe Florida is seeking a change to the 2024 vote that would legalize adult use of cannabis. The Smart & Safe Florida Committee submitted 291,999 valid signatures as of Friday.