A Comprehensive Florida Medical Marijuana Program Overview – Marijuana Consulting Florida

Florida’s Marijuana Program Overview

If you are looking for a comprehensive article, that outlines everything one needs to know about the Florida medical marijuana market, congratulations. This is the one stop shop everyone is looking for.  Florida-based teams are assembling now to prepare for the next submission round.  The Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use site provides amazing information and can be found by clicking the following link. Here

This article targets future medical marijuana applicants looking to obtain a Medical Marijuana Treat Center (MMTC) license.  The rules and regulations that govern the program can be found by clicking the following link. Here    A MMTC license in Florida will allow you to cultivate, process and dispense medical cannabis.   There are proposed rules for future MMTC applicants found, Here

Current Florida Medical Marijuana License Holders

The first round of applications was accepted on July 8, 2015.  On November 23, 2015, the following five organizations were granted licenses out of the twenty-eight that submitted.  When any of the company names below are clicked, you will be taken directly to their website.  On April 6th, 2016 a sixth dispensary was added to the list.  The applications from the first round are published on the state’s website found at the following link: Here

1. CHTMedical: This organization was acquired by Aphira for $25M, the organization was renamed Liberty Health Sciences Inc.
2. KnoxMedical
3. Modern Health Concepts : CuraLeaf
4. Surterra Therapeutics
5. Truelieve
6. The Green Solution

So, in other words, these licenses are worth $25M.  Now granted, this deal was a mix of stock and cash, but $25M is $25M.  Most companies submitting for the next round will spend between $500,000-$2,000,000 in pursuit capital just to get the license.  To put it in other terms, spend $2M, make $23M.  Every applicant that spends $2M will not get a license, but very few winners cut corners.

Florida Acceptable Delivery Methods

The smokable form of cannabis is allowed only via vaporization.  Oils, Pills, Sprays, plus edibles are acceptable forms.  Qualifying patients can receive a 70-day supply of products.  After visiting each of the websites and touring the menu of each dispensary, it is evident that flower, or the bud forms of marijuana, are not sold.  The only thing close to dry flower that is published online is the dry herb pods offered by Curaleaf.  The Curaleaf approach poses an interesting way of still selling flower.  Outside of the legal, accepted products, we have also found Transdermal Patches, CBD Products, Tinctures, Capsules, Transdermal Salves and Topicals.

We have listed the current licenses holders again, but if you click them this time you will be taken directly to their menus of each of the current license holders: Liberty, Knox, CuraLeaf, Surterra, Truelieve, TGS

The Florida Program History

The program started very limitedly in scope.  Only those who have a terminal illness with less than a year left to live, qualified for medicine in this program.  It expanded after Amendment 2 was passed on November 8^th, 2016.  Before January 3, 2017, the medical marijuana available to patients contained low THC.  After July 1, 2017, THC content of any percentage became allowed.

Qualify Medical Marijuana Conditions in Florida

The conditions that help expand the Florida market the most after Amendment 2 include 1. Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualified medical condition or other debilitating medical conditions comparable to the listed conditions. 2. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 3. Cancer and 4. Epilepsy 5. Terminally Ill.

Some of the other conditions include 6. Glaucoma. 7. Positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). 8. Multiple sclerosis. 9. Crohn’s disease, 8. Parkinson’s disease, 10. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and 11. Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS).

Medical Marijuana Approved Physician List and Patient Totals

A list of currently approved physicians who have passed the required training can be found in the following link. Here When this article is written as of October 5, 2018, 172,848 patients are located in Florida with 133,581 with active cards.  1,755 physicians are located in the Florida market.  The following link, published by the Department of Health, keeps monthly totals on patients and physicians. Here

To contact the Office of Medical Marijuana Use for questions, call toll free at +1-800-808-9580.  The office hours are only on the weekdays from 8am-5pm EST (excluding state holidays). You can email them at: medicalmarijuanause@flhealth.gov

Mailing Address:

Patient and Caregiver ID Card Applications:

PO Box 31313

Tampa, FL 33631-3313

OMMU Mailing Address: (for non ID Card Applications)

4052 Bald Cypress Way, Bin M-01

Tallahassee, FL 32399

The patient registry website can be found at the following link. Here

Quantum 9 Marijuana Consulting Florida

If you are not interested in doing all the leg work, Quantum 9 can help applicants through the entire application process.  The technical writing Quantum 9 can provide are as follows:

Application Writing Services for the Florida MMTC Application process.

• S1 – Technical Ability: Cultivation Knowledge and Experience;
• S2 – Technical Ability: Medical Marijuana Cultivation;
• S3 – Infrastructure: Cultivation;
• S4 – Technical Ability: Processing;
• S5 – Infrastructure: Processing;
• S6 – Technical Ability: Dispensing Operations;
• S7 – Technical Ability: Medical Marijuana Dispensing;
• S8 – Infrastructure: Dispensing;
• S9 – Accountability: Premises;
• S10 – Accountability: Operations;
• S11 – Personnel: Medical Director;
• S12 – Personnel: Cultivation, Processing, Dispensing, and Delivery Staff;
• S13 – Diversity Plan; and
• S15 – Financials: Business Structure (Partial).

Is Medical Cannabis Legal in Florida?