Skip to main content

Cannabis news -- Florida medical marijuana director abruptly resigns

Florida medical marijuana director abruptly resigns













TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida medical marijuana director Christian Bax, who has been a frequent target of lawmakers and patients over delays in the program, is stepping down.

The Department of Health said on Friday that Bax’s resignation takes effect on Aug. 10. Deputy Director Courtney Coppola has been named the interim director.

Bax had led the Office of Medical Marijuana Use since it was created in 2015. He wrote in his resignation letter that “it has been an incredible honor to have served the Department and the State of Florida in the task of building something entirely new in the state.”

During his three-year tenure Bax’s leadership has been beset by legal challenges mostly related to the process of awarding licenses for medical marijuana growers and distributors. The office is also involved in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of patients being able to smoke medical pot.

Orlando attorney John Morgan, who spearheaded the passing of the state’s constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, has been the most vocal of Bax’s critics. On Friday he said he hoped that there would be some improvement immediately since “it is hard to do worse than zero.”

“This guy was so terrible for sick and injured people that anyone would be better suited. I feel like his actions were intentional,” Morgan said.

Bax has frequently drawn the ire of state lawmakers and patients over delays in the program, ranging from licensing to delays in patients being able to receive identification cards so they could receive cannabis.

There is a provision in the current state budget that withholds nearly $2 million in salaries until the department can fully implement medical marijuana.

Last week the state’s Joint Legislative Budget Committee added $13.3 million to the Office of Medical Marijuana’s budget to help with litigation costs, review applications for new licenses and implement a new seed-to-sale tracking system.

According to the Department of Health’s weekly updates, the state registry is adding nearly 3,000 new patients per week. On Friday, the state listed 107,127 qualified patients.

“The bipartisan frustration with the slow implementation of this law has been well documented. Last week, Ms. Coppola gave the Legislature a plan to finish implementation of the law,” state Sen. Rob Bradley said in a text message. “Now that she is in charge, our expectation is for her to execute her plan and finish the job.”

Copyright 2018 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved.


Let's block ads! (Why?)



https://www.local10.com/news/florida/flo...ly-resigns

from potads - All Forums learn more

Popular posts from this blog

Martha Stewart launches CBD line in crowded market - CNN

Martha Stewart launches CBD line in crowded market - CNN The hemp-derived, cannabidiol-rich gummies, soft gels and oil drops officially launched on Thursday after more than a year in development. The products are the result of the style maven's partnership with Canopy Growth ( CGC ) , the Canadian cannabis company with a multibillion-dollar backer in US alcohol giant Constellation Brands ( STZ ) . Stewart joined Canopy as an adviser in early 2019 for the express purpose of developing cannabis products for humans and their pets after being introduced to Canopy's founder by her friend Calvin Broadus Jr. -- the rapper and businessman better known as Snoop Dogg. His Leafs by Snoop cannabis brand is produced by Canopy. The initial Martha Stewart CBD products, which range from $34.99 to $44.99, will be sold online at Canopy's e-commerce site . The pet products are expected to debut later this year. "I was surprised to learn that while most people have heard of ...
Read more

The Half-Legal Cannabis Trap - POLITICO

The Half-Legal Cannabis Trap - POLITICO LOS ANGELES — Everything about Kelvin’s job in a neighborhood southwest of downtown seemed like any other assignment, if not a little more exciting. The 40-year-old, who had previously worked as an electrician, had been employed since 2015 by a private security company that contracted him out to guard marijuana dispensaries. In 2019, he was protecting one of the thousand or so cannabis stores in California’s biggest city—part of an industry that has grown less and less underground since 1996, when the state first legalized medical marijuana. Kelvin, who asked not to be identified beyond his middle name to avoid professional retaliation, doesn’t smoke pot, but says the gig felt like the future. He grew up in a time when other Black people he knew in Los Angeles would go to jail for possessing even small amounts of the drug. Now, customers could walk into shops like the one he was guarding, many of which can be identified by green crosses on...
Read more

Cannabis news worldwide -- Some Indian farmers are turning moon-gazers

Some Indian farmers are turning moon-gazers A growing number of cultivators opt for biodynamic techniques to give farming a zodiac twist Sarvdaman Patel , 69, stands between rows of legumes and parsley at high noon, but it is not the harsh sun that bothers him. He is obsessed with the moon. "It is currently in the Air sign which is ideal for flowering plants," he remarks, peering at the marigolds. Patel is no Bejan Daruwala. He is an Indian farmer who has been using biodynamic (BD) techniques for the last 16 years on his farm in Gujarat's Anand. The BD cultivation calendar is based on the moon's movement through each zodiac every two-and-a-half days covering all 12 signs every month. An unofficial estimate by the Biodynamic Association of India (BDAI) says about one lakh farmers in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand practise biodynamic farming. However, most of the produce is sold under the generic 'organic' label as few consumers unde...
Read more