Marijuana Patients Say Florida’s New Dose Limits Stifle Treatment

September 1, 2022
AggregatedNews
Florida
1 Comment

Nearly six years after the legalization of medical marijuana in Florida, the state has imposed strict dosage limits for cannabis patients.

As of August 29, a new Florida Department of Health rule caps patients’ dosage across all major categories of medicinal marijuana, including a 350 mg daily limit on THC from vaporizers and a 60 mg daily limit on THC from edibles. The rule prohibits doctors from prescribing a patient more than 24.5 grams of THC, a primary active ingredient in marijuana, within a 70-day period, excluding smoking products.

Kristina Risola, the director of operations of Florida Medical Cannabis Clinic, calls the dose limits “completely arbitrary numbers.” She says the caps will prevent people from experimenting to find what products treat their condition best.

“Patients are using so many different types of medications, more THC, and higher tolerance builds from that,” Risola, who also serves as a cannabis health coach, tells New Times. “I understand we have to have dosing limits. It is the law. But these are just so unreasonably low that it feels like an intentional attack on THC.”

Jake, a 19-year-old from Lighthouse Point, says his medically recommended THC dose is much higher than the new limits. He opts for cannabis instead of pills to treat his anxiety because pharmaceutical drugs were turning him “into a robot,” he says. (Jake asked to be identified only by his first name out of concerns for medical privacy.)

[Read more at Miami News Times]

This Post Has One Comment

Jimmy Young says:

September 1, 2022 at 10:37 am

Here we go, backwards again, after six years forward, Florida is going backwards. Another reason why relying on our elected officials to set rules and regulations on a plant that THEY KNOW LITTLE OR NOTHING ABOUT. (And are lazy to do the necessary due diligence on this complicated plant.)

Science, research, and education about this plant medicine is the only way we will ever move forward towards normalization and full acceptance of cannabis. Every mammal has an endocannabinoid system that balances our emotions, pain tolerance, and neurotransmitters in our brains.

Everyone has a different reaction and tolerance for the different cannabinoids that are available in a plant that as a living thing can be impacted by all sorts of environmental factors in growing, and the genetics that make up this plant.

To quote a successful entrepreneur of an infused beverage product called Good Feels in Massachusetts, Jason Reposa told this story on one of our live business of cannabis talk shows Green Rush Live, “an oncologist from Dana Farber in Boston, (Massachusetts) told me (him) that as a cancer doctor he was frustrated with the medical limit of 5mg per serving, since some of his patients need much more to impact the treatments prescribed by him and needed by patients.”

I have worked with, and interviewed hundreds of people who suffer from Crohns, PTSD, or Epileptic Seizures who need over 100mg of THC a day to combat their medically diagnosed challenges. Yes, these are functioning adults who aren’t “stoners”, and the world is filled with others who use it to sleep at night. Let the medicinal community study the plant, and research its different impact on each individual.

Then again, this is coming from a state, Florida, that is a prime example of how screwed up our political system is. Rather than point fingers, and blame others for our different opinions, we must find common ground within our diverse backgrounds in order to move forward as a nation and one family of humanity.

Reply