Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. SB 1030
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì480078<Î480078                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  03/11/2014           .                                
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       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Delete lines 25 - 147
    4  and insert:
    5         456.60 Compassionate use of low-THC marijuana.—
    6         (1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term:
    7         (a) “Dispensing organization” means an organization
    8  approved by the department to cultivate, process, and dispense
    9  low-THC marijuana pursuant to this section.
   10         (b) “Low-THC marijuana” means a substance that contains no
   11  more than 0.5 percent of any tetrahydrocannabinol and at least
   12  15 percent cannabidiol and that is dispensed only from a
   13  dispensing organization.
   14         (c) “Medical use” means administration of the ordered
   15  amount of low-THC marijuana. The term does not include the
   16  possession, use, or administration by smoking. The term also
   17  does not include the transfer of low-THC marijuana to a person
   18  other than the qualified patient for whom it was ordered or the
   19  qualified patient’s legal representative on behalf of the
   20  qualified patient.
   21         (d) “Qualified patient” means a resident of this state who
   22  has been added to the compassionate use registry by a physician
   23  licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to receive low-THC
   24  marijuana from a dispensing organization.
   25         (e) “Smoking” means burning or igniting a substance and
   26  inhaling the smoke. Smoking does not include the use of a
   27  vaporizer.
   28         (2) PHYSICIAN ORDERING.—A physician licensed under chapter
   29  458 or chapter 459 who has examined and treated a patient
   30  suffering from a physical medical condition, or from treatment
   31  for a medical condition, which chronically produces symptoms of
   32  seizures or severe and persistent muscle spasms may order for
   33  the patient’s medical use low-THC marijuana to treat or
   34  alleviate such symptoms if no other satisfactory alternative
   35  treatment options exist for that patient and all of the
   36  following conditions apply:
   37         (a) The patient is a permanent resident of this state.
   38  
   39         (b) The physician has treated the patient for his or her
   40  symptoms or a medical condition in which his or her symptoms
   41  were present for at least 6 months.
   42         (c) The physician has tried alternate treatment options
   43  that have not alleviated the patient’s symptoms.
   44         (d) The physician determines the risks of ordering low-THC
   45  marijuana are reasonable in light of the potential benefit for
   46  that patient. If a patient is younger than 18 years of age, a
   47  second physician must concur with this determination, and such
   48  determination must be documented in the patient’s medical
   49  record.
   50         (e) The physician registers as the orderer of low-THC
   51  marijuana for the named patient on the compassionate use
   52  registry maintained by the department and updates the registry
   53  to reflect the contents of the order. The physician shall
   54  inactivate the patient’s registration when treatment is
   55  discontinued.
   56         (f) The physician maintains a patient treatment plan that
   57  includes the dose, route of administration, planned duration,
   58  and monitoring of the patient’s symptoms and other indicators of
   59  tolerance or reaction to the low-THC marijuana.
   60         (g) The physician submits the patient treatment plan
   61  quarterly to the University of Florida College of Pharmacy for
   62  research on the safety and efficacy of low-THC marijuana on
   63  patients with such symptoms.
   64         (3) DUTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.—The department shall:
   65         (a) Create a secure, electronic, and online compassionate
   66  use registry for the registration of physicians and patients as
   67  provided under this section. The registry must be accessible to
   68  law enforcement agencies and to a dispensing organization in
   69  order to verify patient authorization for low-THC marijuana and
   70  record the low-THC marijuana dispensed. The registry must
   71  prevent an active registration of a patient by multiple
   72  physicians.
   73         (b) Authorize at least one, but no more than four,
   74  dispensing organizations, to ensure reasonable statewide
   75  accessibility and availability as necessary for patients
   76  registered in the compassionate use registry and who are ordered
   77  low-THC marijuana under this section. The department shall
   78  develop an application form and impose an initial application
   79  and biennial renewal fee that is sufficient to cover the costs
   80  of administering this section. An applicant for approval as a
   81  dispensing organization must be able to demonstrate:
   82         1. The technical and technological ability to cultivate and
   83  produce low-THC marijuana.
   84         2. The ability to secure the premises, resources, and
   85  personnel necessary to operate as a dispensing organization.
   86         3. The ability to maintain accountability of all raw
   87  materials, finished product, and any byproducts to prevent
   88  diversion or unlawful access to or possession of these
   89  substances.
   90         4. An infrastructure reasonably located to dispense low-THC
   91  marijuana to registered patients statewide or regionally as
   92  determined by the department.
   93         5. The financial ability to maintain operations for the
   94  duration of the 2-year approval cycle.
   95         6. That all owners, managers, and employees have been
   96  fingerprinted and successfully passed background screening
   97  pursuant to s. 435.04.
   98         7. Additional criteria determined by the department to be
   99  necessary to safely implement this section.
  100         (c) Monitor physician registration and ordering of low-THC
  101  marijuana for ordering practices which could facilitate unlawful
  102  diversion or misuse of low-THC marijuana, and take disciplinary
  103  action as indicated.
  104         (4) DISPENSING ORGANIZATION.—An approved dispensing
  105  organization shall maintain compliance with the criteria
  106  demonstrated for selection and approval under subsection (3) as
  107  a dispensing organization at all times. Before dispensing low
  108  THC marijuana to a qualified patient, the dispensing
  109  organization shall verify that the patient has an active
  110  registration in the compassionate use registry, the order
  111  presented matches the order contents as recorded in the
  112  registry, and the order has not already been filled. Upon
  113  dispensing the low-THC marijuana, the dispensing organization
  114  shall record in the registry the date, time, quantity, and form
  115  of low-THC marijuana dispensed.
  116         (5) EXCEPTIONS TO OTHER SECTIONS OF LAW.—
  117         (a) Notwithstanding any other section of law, but subject
  118  to the requirements of this section, a qualified patient and the
  119  qualified patient’s legal representative may purchase, acquire,
  120  and possess for the patient’s medical use up to the amount of
  121  low-THC marijuana ordered to the patient.
  122         (b) Notwithstanding any other section of law, but subject
  123  to the requirements of this section, an approved dispensing
  124  organization and its owners, managers, and employees may
  125  acquire, possess, cultivate, and lawfully dispose of excess
  126  product in reasonable quantities to produce low-THC marijuana
  127  and possess, process, and dispense low-THC marijuana.
  128  
  129  
  130  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  131  And the title is amended as follows:
  132         Delete lines 2 - 5
  133  and insert:
  134  
  135         An act relating to low-THC marijuana and cannabis;
  136         creating s. 456.60, F.S.; defining terms; authorizing
  137         specified physicians to order low-THC marijuana for
  138         use by specified patients; providing