Florida Governor: Crush Out Pot Smoking Ban
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On January 17, 2019, new Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that the Florida State Legislature should end its losing efforts to keep in place a ban on smoking medical pot or he will end the state’s defense of […]
Failed Medical Marijuana Applicant’s Appeal Goes Up in Smoke Thanks to Pennsylvania Court
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 20, 2018, a Pennsylvania court agreed that a company that lost out on a potentially profitable cannabis dispensary permit needed to exhaust administrative remedies before it could file suit. The suit would challenge the constitutionality of […]
Orlando One Step Closer to Decriminalizing Marijuana as Commissioners Approve New Ordinance
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 18, 2016, Orlando moved a one step closer to effectively decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana. The City Council narrowly backed a measure that would allow officers to issue tickets to some people caught with the drug. […]
Pennsylvania House of Representatives Passes Medical Marijuana Bill
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On March 16, 2016, Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives passed a measure that would legalize medical marijuana in certain forms. The vote was 149-43, with all voting Democrats and more than half of Republicans in support of the bill. […]
Could Marijuana Be a Successful Treatment For Opioid Addiction? Lawmakers Are Considering This Alternative Treatment
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Recently, a growing number of patients and doctors have claimed that medical marijuana may help treat addiction to painkillers and heroin. These claims have intrigued lawmakers and advocates who are pushing for marijuana as a treatment for the […]
Canada to Legalize Recreational Marijuana in 2017: Spring Breakers to Go North Next Year
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 20, 2016, Canada’s Health Minister announced that the Canadian government will introduce a new law in the Spring of 2017 to legalize recreational marijuana and regulate sales. This law fulfills Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s election […]
New Study Reveals Only One Long Term Effect From Smoking Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law According to new research, long-term marijuana use may not be so bad for your health after all. A recent long-term study of nearly 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to age 38 has found that people who smoked marijuana […]
DEA Nixes Removing Marijuana From Its Highly Restricted Drug Classification
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On August 11, 2016, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) denied a petition to lessen federal restrictions on the use of marijuana for the fourth consecutive time. The DEA rejected petitions to remove marijuana from its most highly restricted […]
Florida Proposed Amendment: Telemedicine Exams Not Allowed for Medical Marijuana Doctor Order
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 8, 2016, The Florida Board of Medicine issued a proposed amendment to its telemedicine regulations to clarify that physicians cannot order medical cannabis or low-THC cannabis through telemedicine. The regulation is in the preliminary stages and […]
Orlando To Be Site for Opening of First Florida Medical Marijuana Dispensary
By Shannon McDonough, Legal and Marketing Intern Central Florida Making Strides Toward Medical Marijuana Acceptance. Central Florida has jumped on the bandwagon with the acceptance of the alternative medicine, medical marijuana. The first medical marijuana dispensary in Florida is opening within the next few weeks in Orlando. It will offer patients the option of medical […]
Florida Department of Health Urges Caution to Avoid Reported Medical Marijuana Scams
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On April 20, 2017, the Orange County Medical Society (OCMS) Board of Directors was alerted to a scam involving medical marijuana. The scammers attempt to steal credit card information from patients. Patients are requested to provide their credit […]
Inconsistency in Legislation Leads to Legal Challenge of Florida Medical Marijuana Law
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Challenge to Florida Legislatures’s Limitation on Medical Marijuana Use. Despite the passage of a Florida Constitution Amendment by the people of the state of Florida in November 2016, the Legislature continues to attempt to artificially limit its access […]
New Report Reveals Massive $2.4 Billion Marijuana Impact on Colorado Economy
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On October 27, 2016, the Marijuana Policy Project issued a report for 2015 stating that the state-legal medical marijuana industry had a $2.4 billion economic impact on the Colorado economy. The cannabis industry, the fastest-growing business sector in […]
State of Florida Sued as DOH Fails to Grant New Pot Licenses
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 22, 2017, a plant nursery and a man who has epilepsy, filed suit alleging that it’s “high time” for the Florida Department of Health (DOH) to comply with a Florida constitutional amendment and its implementing legislation. […]
Denver Coffee Shop May Become First Business to Allow Social Marijuana Use
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On December 12, 2017, the first application to allow social marijuana use in a business has landed in Colorado. This first application seeks to allow vaping and use of edibles southwest of downtown. Denver is the first in […]
Federal Judge Dismisses Former NFL Player’s Marijuana Decriminalization Suit
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On February 26, 2018, a New York federal judge dismissed a former NFL star’s suit demanding decriminalization of medical marijuana. U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein said the Second Circuit has already determined that Congress had a rational […]
What You Should Know Before Dabbing Into the Risks of Marijuana-Related Mergers and Acquisitions
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law As public support grows for the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. and Canada, mergers and acquisitions lawyers should be studying up now on the ins and outs of cannabis compliance. In the U.S., there are 29 states, […]
New Medical-Marijuana Amendment to be Reviewed for Inclusion on Ballot
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law A new medical-marijuana amendment will be reviewed by the Department of State. The second push in Florida has more than 100,000 signatures in favor to date. The petitions were given to the state on Wednesday by an organization […]
Cities All Over Florida Prepare for Medical Marijuana, Even Altamonte Springs!
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Medical marijuana stores are one-step closer to being able to operate in Altamonte Springs as officials give initial green light to proposed ordinances. The city commission voted unanimously Tuesday evening in favor of the new city ordinances that […]
Federal Judge Challenges the Justice Department’s Interpretation of Federal Law Restricting Medical Marijuana Prosecutions
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law In a federal case involving a California-based medical marijuana dispensary and the United States, regarding a motion to dissolve a permanent injunction, a federal judge challenged the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) so-called “tortured” interpretation of the law. U.S. […]
Florida Physicians Allowed to “Recommend” But Not “Prescribe” Medical Marijuana for Patients
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Under the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, Florida patients suffering from cancer or a physical medical condition that produces chronic symptoms of seizures or severe and persistent muscles spasms can qualify for the use of low-THC cannabis. […]
Colorado Health Board Rejects Medical Marijuana Proposal for PTSD Treatment
By Carole C. Schriefer, R.N., J.D., The Health Law Firm On July 15, 2015, the Colorado Board of Health denied a bid to approve medical marijuana as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Colorado is known for pushing the boundaries with marijuana, but health officials rejected the idea that it can be an effective […]
Workers Can Be Fired For Using Marijuana Off-Duty
By Carole C. Schriefer, R.N., J.D., The Health Law Firm Marijuana may be legal in Colorado, but you can still be fired for using it. Employers’ zero- tolerance drug policies trump Colorado’s medical marijuana laws, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Monday. In a 6-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that businesses can terminate an […]
Study Finds States That Allow Medical Marijuana May Have Less Opioid Use
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On September 15, 2016, a new study was released from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, that suggests people in states that allow medical marijuana may be using fewer opioid painkillers. Researchers analyzed crash data in 18 […]
Jeff Sessions Threatens Legalized Marijuana by Reversing Obama-Era Policy
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Legal Access to Marijuana Expands: California Legalizes Recreational Pot & Florida Legalizes Medical Marijuana
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law After looking at the red and blue map of America from the recent presidential election, it may be time to add some green. On November 9, 2016, the movement to legalize marijuana, which has been in the public […]
Orlando City Council Vote to Extend Temporary Ban on Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On November 14, 2016, Orlando’s City Council voted to extend its temporary ban on new marijuana dispensaries, less than a week after Florida voters backed a constitutional amendment to expand medical use of the drug. Back in July […]
Florida’s First Green Bank Cuts Business Ties with Medical Marijuana Money
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Lake County, Florida Votes Unanimously to Ban Medical Marijuana Dispensaries
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Florida Harvests It’s First Legal Medical Marijuana Crop
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law On July 18, 2016, Florida harvested it’s first legal marijuana crop. The new crop is being stored in multiple vacuum-packed, 441-gram bags in a freezer on the outskirts of Tallahassee. The harvest is the result of months of […]
Florida Gets a Green Light on First Five Growers as Medical Marijuana Program Expands: Five Pot Growers Hit Jackpot
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law The Florida Department of Health (DOH) awarded the state’s first licenses to five nurseries, allowing them to legally grow and cultivate marijuana for medical purposes. The nurseries selected are Costa Nursery Farms in Miami, Alpha Foliage of Homestead, […]
Shortage of Florida Physicians Approved to Recommend “Green Leaf Relief” for Patients
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law Florida may be “going green” in a big way come November 2016; and I’m not talking about recycling. The Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, or Ballot Initiative Amendment 2, has undergone revisions, and will likely be making […]
Group Pushing For New Marijuana Legalization Amendment in Florida
By George F. Indest III, J.D., M.P.A., LL.M., Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Health Law There is a new effort to legalize the use of marijuana in Florida and not just for medical purposes. Petitions will soon hit the streets for a proposed constitutional amendment that would completely legalize use, possession and cultivation […]