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Editorial: Finally moving ahead on Charlotte's Web

 
Published June 1, 2015

Before the end of the year, a noneuphoric strain of medical marijuana finally could make its way into the marketplace and into the hands of needy patients. This is a welcome end to the legal fighting that has kept the drug from Floridians since January, when patients should have gained access. As state regulators begin to implement the 2014 law that legalized the noneuphoric strain of medical marijuana, they should carefully monitor the bidding process for growers and ensure that a safe and effective product is made available without further delay. Sick Floridians have waited long enough.

An administrative law judge threw out the final challenge last week to the Department of Health's rules regarding Florida's nascent medical marijuana program. Lawmakers passed the Florida Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act last year, approving a noneuphoric strain of medical marijuana that is low in the euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol or THC and high in cannabidiol, which provides relief from seizures and muscle spasms and is known to lessen pain. One of the drug's most commonly known brands is Charlotte's Web, which is billed as an effective treatment for epileptic seizures in children.

The cannabis act was heralded as a great hope for some of Florida's sickest residents. But the legislation was problematic from the start. Lawmakers required that the state be divided into five regions that are served by a single grower in each district. The law also set a 30-year operations rule for potential growers, and the state created a lottery system to select each grower. That created an unfair monopoly among growers and irresponsibly left product quality to chance.

Legal challenges to the Health Department's proposed rules were almost immediate. Frustrated by the stalemate, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, proposed an amendment in this year's legislative session that would have brought the drug to market more quickly, namely by raising the cap on the number of growers to 20. He also sought to raise the level of THC allowed in the initial law. The amendment ultimately fizzled, a casualty of the House's decision to adjourn before the session ended, but Bradley should raise these issues again next year.

Though all appears calm for now, it is unlikely that the state has seen the last lawsuit opposing the department's medical marijuana rules. Regulators need to quickly implement the 2014 law and structure the program in a way that serves Floridians well and prevents and punishes abuse.