During 2018, Florida residents who met the qualifications were able to receive certifications to buy and use marijuana for medicinal purposes. The Tampa Bay Times indicates that a report issued by the Physician Certification Pattern Review Panel shows that 1,070 doctors statewide provided certifications to more than 136,000 patients between January and September of this year. Post-traumatic stress disorder was the condition for which over 41,000 of those certifications were received. More than 17,000 patients with cancer were certified to use medical marijuana.
Some people are concerned about the number of patients with PTSD who have been allowed to use pot for medical reasons, citing a fear that the system might be being abused. However, according to the Florida Department of Health, PTSD is one of the named conditions that may qualify a patient to use medical pot.
Medicinal pot contains a relatively high amount of tetrahydrocannabinol compared to low-THC cannabis. In order to comply with the law, people must purchase the marijuana at a designated facility. Their certification to buy and use the pot must not be received by the doctor who diagnosed their condition but by a separate doctor.
Medical pot is not available in a form designed to be smoked. It must not be used on any school grounds, at a person’s place of employment, on any public transportation or in any public location. These are just some of the parameters of the program that people must follow in order to avoid breaking the medical marijuana law. Multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease and Parkinson’s disease are just a few of the other conditions for which a person might be able to get a certification for medical marijuana.