Florida lawmakers want to limit how high you can get when smoking medical marijuana
Florida lawmakers want to limit how high you can get when smoking medical marijuana
Florida passed a bill for patients to be smoking medical marijuana; a house committee led by some Republican legislative leaders approved a bill to limit the strength of smokable medical marijuana flower available to patients who want to smoke their medicine.
From an interview with the News Service of Florida, Ray Rodrigues, who is the chairman of the committee, said that the house had considered a proposal which could cap THC levels in smokable medical marijuana at 10 percent.
Arguing on a recent study published in the Lancet Psychiatry Medical Journal, Rodrigues claims that smokable medical marijuana that contains more than 10% THC is harmful and is not medically helpful unlike the one with THC with less than 10%, which is medically helpful.
Despite objections from the patients on this proposal, Human services and house health committee has gone ahead to vote for the proposal. It appeared to be like a tug of war between the Republicans who supported the cap versus Democrats who opposed it.
Efforts to reach out to the State Rep. Ray Rodrigues, who has directed medical marijuana legislation in the House since Law – THC cannabis was first authorized in the year 2014, has not said anything though the proposal has not yet been filled.
It is not clear whether the cap will apply on both smokable pot or on other medical products. It is also not known when or if this proposal will be presented before the legislators.
Experts’ View on the Proposal
Dr. Emily Wolek, a doctor at Iona Cannabis Clinic, condemns the lawmakers by telling them that it is not right for them to restrict Doctors what they can give people because they do not know the patients’ body more than they do.
She again argues that, restricting the THC in the smokable medical marijuana will just lead patients to use more medication on themselves to reach the THC level needed, hence increasing the prices of the treatment to them.
Dr. Emily defends this by saying it’s because different patients require different levels of THC to work in their bodies to relieve pain and lower anxiety.
Patients’ Point of View
Patients, on the other hand, are also against the legalization on this bill. Their argument is that limiting the strength of smokable medical marijuana at 10% will not only hurt them but also boost illicit market sales of stronger cannabis which is already in the market.
These patients also feel that they do not want their fate on THC content in the hands of lawmakers. They are therefore advocating to the state that it should trust the doctors to have a say on this because they are the ones who know what to prescribe to them.
