State of Florida Prepares Rules for Limited Medical Marijuana

State health regulators heard an earful from growers, lawyers and lobbyists seeking to rake in some green from Florida’s new pot industry during a standing-room-only, rule-making workshop Monday.

At the top of the complaint list: concerns about a proposed lottery system to award five organizations the chance to grow, manufacture and dispense a type of medical marijuana approved by Florida’s Republican-dominated Legislature this spring.

The first foray into the new medical marijuana law drew people from as far away as California who put themselves out as industry “experts,” some nurserymen and women who could be eligible to grow the pot and some of Tallahassee’s A-list lobbyists who inundated the state Department of Health with questions and suggestions.

Complaints touched on every part of the new law, beginning with the number of dispensaries. Department of Health General Counsel Jennifer Tschetter said the agency’s preliminary plan was to limit the number of dispensaries to five as outlined in the law and to bar dispensaries from shipping or transporting the final product.

The state needs “way more than five” dispensaries, and the nursery locations are “very inconvenient for the patient populations,” said Kerry Herndon, owner of Apopka-based Kerry’s Nursery.

Florida’s new law makes legal in Florida certain strains of marijuana that are low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. The law specifically limits the composition of the seeds, plants and final product, usually an oil or paste, to no more than .8 percent THC and at least 10 percent CBD. The combination is purported to eliminate or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures in children with severe epilepsy. The law also allows patients who suffer from severe muscle spasms or cancer to be put on a “compassionate use registry” for the low-THC product as long as their doctors approve.

The Department of Health released a proposed rule late Wednesday outlining that the new regulated industry would use a lottery to select single dispensing organizations in regions where more than one application was submitted.

That idea raised the hackles of lobbyists and growers, who complained that the state would be putting epileptic children and other patients at risk by failing to ensure that the most capable organizations would be responsible for crafting the substance they ingest.

“This process ... seems to reward the promise to perform better than the ability to perform,” said lobbyist Louis Rotundo, who represents the Florida Medical Cannabis Association.

Tschetter said that the agency chose a lottery process to avoid legal challenges and to speed up the process so that patients could get access to the compound sooner.

“We could find ourselves at (the Division of Administrative Hearings) for a couple of years talking about who could be the dispensing organization,” Tschetter said, inviting the audience to suggest alternatives to the lottery.

Department spokesman Nathan Dunn told reporters after the meeting that the agency would consider revising the rule to do away with the lottery and that the agency has fast-tracked regulations regarding the law, signed by Gov. Rick Scott just three weeks ago.

“Obviously we’re very committed to implementing this law. That’s demonstrated in the time frame with which we’ve already opened the Office of Compassionate Use, named the director and held the first rule workshop with feedback from people from around the state,” Dunn said.

Other concerns included the possibility that local governments might create zoning restrictions barring dispensaries, possible price-gouging because of the regional monopolies established in the law, and vagueness about who the actual applicant for the dispensing organization would be.

Under the law, eligible growers are limited to nurseries that have been doing business in Florida for at least 30 years and are producing at least 400,000 plants. Herndon, who owns one of the 46 eligible nurseries, said he has been approached by numerous individuals seeking to partner with him.

“I need help with the dispensaries, I need help with the compounding ... but I don’t know what level of ownership I should or must retain,” Herndon said. “We just need to know.”

Tschetter, Office of Compassionate Use Director Linda McMullen and other top-ranking department officials also heard from Paige Figi, whose daughter is linked with “Charlotte’s Web,” the low-THC, high-CBD strain of marijuana distributed in Colorado that became the impetus for Florida and other states to pursue the non-euphoric pot to treat epileptic children.

“My issue is, speed of access is critical,” Figi said. “Many other states are modeling their legislation after what you guys have done.”

Joel Stanley, who with his brothers produces and distributes Charlotte’s Web in Colorado, warned regulators about misconceptions surrounding the strain. Each plant is unique and requires quality-control measures to ensure that patients are getting the correct genetic formula, he said.

“What makes Charlotte’s Web particularly special is it does have that track record,” he said. “It has that proven level of efficacy and it has a proven track record.”

But growers and others were also concerned about legal and other problems establishing the original crop of low-THC in Florida, as all forms of marijuana are currently illegal under federal law.

“You have to make sure the law allows every participant to have this potentially incredible life-saving medicine … without the risk of prison,” said Bob McKee, a lawyer, nurseryman and “Sanctuary Cannabis” partner who has hired prominent lobbyists Jon Costello, Steve Schale and Gary Rutledge. “We need to fix that. We need to get this right.”

Other states have looked the other way to allow growers to begin cultivating the plant, Stanley said after the meeting.

It remains unclear how growers in Florida will gain access to the plant.

“Very quietly,” Fort Walton Beach Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, who sponsored the legislation, said when asked how it will get into the state.

Gaetz, a lawyer, said there is no immunity from state or federal prosecution for bringing cannabis across state lines.

“But I know a few parents of children with intractable epilepsy who will be happy to go get it for you,” he said.

Some highlights of the proposed rule

• Plants must be planted from the same seeds and cuttings and harvested at the same time then tested.

• Plants must contain no more than .8 percent THC and no less than 10 percent CBD — or all of the product would be destroyed.

The five regions

• Northwest — Bay, Calhoun, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Madison, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Wakulla, Walton and Washington counties.

• Central — Brevard, Citrus, Hardee, Hernando, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Seminole, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia counties.

• Southwest — Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Lee, Okeechobee and Sarasota counties.

• Southeast — Broward, Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties.

• “A public lottery will be held to determine the order in which applications are considered,” if more than one company applies in a region. The company selected will have 30 days to pay $150,000 for a license and post a $5 million performance bond.

• Each company will have 120 days to begin dispensing the medicine or lose its license.

Medical Marijuana Initiative Popular with Florida Seniors

As a teenager and later, as a wife and mom, Mary Greene never considered trying marijuana for any purpose.

That was before she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis 10 years ago. Now 57 and a grandmother, she lives in constant pain but doesn’t want to be heavily medicated, she said.

Pat Suit, who’s in her 70s and a former cigarette smoker, recalls telling her children she knew what was inside what she was inhaling but that they didn’t know what was inside a joint.

All these years later, and after “more education,” she and her husband “are both in favor of medical marijuana and will be voting for it,” Suit said. “I don’t believe anyone should suffer when there is help at hand.”

The women are among the Space Coast’s boomer-and-older residents who say they will vote yes this November on the Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative. Widely known as Amendment 2, it would legalize the medical use of marijuana in the Sunshine State. To be added to the state constitution, the amendment needs to be approved by 60 percent of voters.

Greene and Suit have company in the graying group who say they’ll vote yes. For some, it’s because they used marijuana recreationally as young people and saw no ill effects as they’ve aged. Others support any kind of legal relief for themselves or a loved one with a terminal illness or in serious, long-term pain.

A Quinnipiac University poll this spring charted support in those older than 65 at a whopping 84 percent and 88 percent among all voters. While support of recreational usage drops dramatically in that older age group, in that same poll, among voters 50 to 64 years old, 62 percent admitted smoking pot, more than any other demographic.

Not a ‘horrid gateway drug’

Melbourne Beach native Joan Crutcher, 60, remembers being told as a teen that marijuana was a “horrid gateway drug” and that using it would lead her to heroin.

It didn’t, said Crutcher, a graphic designer who’s now a grandmother. And now, she’s adamant that “for palliative effects and health benefits that cover a long list of ailments, medical marijuana at the very least needs to be legalized in Florida.”

“What we’re hearing from older voters is not a lot different from the electorate as a whole,” said Ben Pollara, campaign manager for United For Care, the initiative that landed the issue on the ballot. United For Care is funded heavily by Orlando attorney John Morgan, who supports Charlie Crist, the likely Democrat gubernatorial candidate. Crist is employed by Morgan’s law firm.

“For the most part, it’s not a controversial topic. ... If their doctor recommends a particular treatment plan, whether it’s a medication regimen, a new diet, exercise, yoga or medical marijuana,” Pollara said, “they should be able to follow their doctor’s orders without being treated like a criminal.”

But those against legalizing medical marijuana are equally firm in their stance.

Mixing politics, health care ‘a disaster’

The Florida Sheriffs Association, including Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey, and the Florida Medical Association oppose Amendment 2, as do many Republican leaders, including Gov. Rick Scott.

John Anderson, 87, former chairman of the Brevard GOP, is a retired nurse anesthetist.

“I can say that from my experience and my background in health care, whenever you mix politics and health care, it’s a disaster,” said Anderson, a Cocoa Beach resident.

“The people who are talking have no idea about the pharmacology or the pharmaceutical-therapeutic dynamics of any drug, whether it’s aspirin or some fancy beta blocker. They’re just talking based on what they heard somebody say. ... There are many people who think marijuana relieves pain. Marijuana is not an analgesic. You get more pain relief from an aspirin than marijuana, if you’re talking about it in that sense.”

Greene worked for years as a technician at a dialysis center but had to quit because she could no longer lift patients, she said.

“My insurance right now doesn’t pay for the medicine that’s best for me to use,” she said. “So I’m on a very old-style regimen and live in constant pain. I tell my husband, it’s just a matter of degree. Some days I can function and other days, I don’t. I stay in bed.”

She wants relief but worries about what she’s putting into her body, particularly some of the newer medications.

When the rheumatoid arthritis struck, the first medication she injected herself with twice a week made her so nauseated, she “couldn’t do a thing.”

“You don’t know what the long-term effects are, so you don’t know what it’s doing to the inside of your body,” she said.

“But that’s OK, because it’s coming from a pharmaceutical company? No.”

Tripp Spring, 63, of Melbourne Beach is vice president of the nonprofit Florida Cannabis Action Network, which recently joined the Cocoa Beach Chamber of Commerce.

One of FCAN’s concerns, he said, is possible confusion over “Charlotte’s Web,” a low-potency strain of marijuana said to reduce seizures in children with epilepsy. Scott recently signed a bill legalizing use of that strain but still opposes the amendment legalizing medical marijuana.

“We were at the forefront in getting that done,” Spring said. “We wanted to help people right away. But now, one of our fears is that people will think, ‘OK, it’s done,’ and won’t vote. It’s not done.”

The Brevard County Medical Society recently unanimously passed a resolution opposing Amendment 2, said Dr. Stephanie Haridopolos, BCMS president and a voice in the Sheriffs Association’s “Don’t Let Florida Go to Pot” initiative.

“I would never prescribe pot to one of my patients, nor have I ever heard one of my colleagues say they would prescribe it,” Haridopolos said. “Besides, there is an FDA-approved medication called Marinol that can help cancer and AIDS patients with their appetite and nausea, and there are other meds that can be used for chronic pain.”

‘No reason’ to withhold marijuana

Such input doesn’t change the mind of 65-year-old Angie Wilt of Canaveral Groves, a former United Space Alliance employee.

In 2009, her husband, Stan, now 80, had a massive stroke that affected his right side and, she said, left his cognitive function “mostly gone.”

There is “absolutely no reason” marijuana should be withheld from those who, as determined by medical professionals, would benefit from its use, Wilt said.

At times, her husband asks what his medicine is for, Wilt said.

“Other times he will say, ‘Can I have something for pain? My shoulder hurts, my back hurts,’ etc.,” she said. “It would be so nice to have the option of giving him medical marijuana on an as-needed basis, instead of the narcotic pain meds he takes.”

Haridopolos, though, thinks when people hear medical marijuana can help people with “debilitating diseases,” they are “swayed into saying they support the amendment.”

“However, when people come to understand the loopholes and the clause in the amendment that states pot can be obtained for ‘other conditions,’ which could mean back pain, problems sleeping or trouble eating, support drops dramatically,” she said.

But Mary Greene has done her homework, she said.

She’s read the amendment closely and made her decision.

Speaking out about her stance has gotten Greene raked over the coals at a couple of meetings, even by people with whom she usually agrees. She is not deterred.

“I think that if it’s an important issue, you should take a stand one way or another,” Greene said.

“And you should be willing to stand behind it so long as you educate yourself, so that you can give an informed response — not just ‘because.’ ”

Britt Kennerly, FLORIDA TODAY

Medical Marijuana One Step Closer To Reality In Floirda

BY MARC CAPUTO AND MARY ELLEN KLAS

MCAPUTO@MIAMIHERALD.COM

Florida voters will decide whether to legalize marijuana for medical use, after the state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a proposed constitutional amendment won’t mislead people when they go to the polls in the Nov. 4 elections.

“Voters are given fair notice as to the chief purpose and scope of the proposed amendment, which is to allow a restricted use of marijuana for certain ‘debilitating’ medical conditions,” the court said in a 4-3 ruling that split liberals and conservatives. “We therefore reject the opponents’ assertion that the amendment ‘would allow far wider marijuana use than the ballot title and summary reveal.’ ”

By knocking down a core objection to the amendment, the justices dealt a serious blow to the talking points of opponents who called the measure a type of backdoor legalization that allows for “unfettered” marijuana use for minor ailments.

Leading the opposition: Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, state House Speaker Will Weatherford, state Senate President Don Gaetz and many conservative-leaning lobby groups based in Tallahassee. Gov. Rick Scott also opposes the proposed amendment.

Democratic governor candidates Charlie Crist and Nan Rich support the amendment, as does Libertarian candidate Adrian Wyllie.

The amendment draws strong bipartisan support from voters, according to polls, so the effect it will have on the gubernatorial race is debatable.

Numerous polls show Florida’s measure would pass if the vote were held today, with one survey showing support as high as 82 percent. The most recent Public Policy Polling survey gauged voter support at 65 percent.

If the amendment passes — for which it needs 60 percent of the vote — Florida would become the 21st state plus the District of Columbia to decriminalize marijuana for medical use. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.

The citizens’ group pushing the amendment, People United for Medical Marijuana, pointed out that the Florida Legislature, led by Republicans, has repeatedly blocked medical-marijuana efforts from even getting a hearing in the state Capitol until recently.

Opponents say medical marijuana is a first step toward legalization in general; they opposed Florida’s measure because they said it would trick voters into legalizing pot under the guise of helping sick people.

One of the most conservative members of the court, Chief Justice Ricky Polston, echoed the arguments of opponents — sure to be amplified on the campaign trail — in saying the proposal is designed to “hide the ball” from voters.

Polston drew a major distinction between the ballot summary’s statement, which says marijuana would be legal for those who suffer from a debilitating “disease,” and the amendment’s actual text, which never mentions “disease” but uses the wording “debilitating medical conditions.”

Polston suggested that voters would be tricked into voting for something that he believes will sanction the use of pot for “minor aches and pains, stress, insomnia or fear of an upcoming flight.”

“In addition to deceptively employing the term ‘disease,’ the summary and title of this initiative also mislead voters by failing to inform them that all that is required under the amendment’s text to qualify for the use of marijuana is for one physician to think that the potential benefits of the drug would likely outweigh the potential risks,” Polston wrote. “This is seriously misleading.”

Polston said the amendment would grant doctors immunity from lawsuits — even if they prescribed heavy doses of marijuana for a “teething toddler.”

Proponents say Polston is engaging in the very type of misleading “wordsmithing” that he decries in his dissent, which was joined by fellow conservative Charles Canady, who also wrote another dissent that Polston signed.

Justice Jorge Labarga, a moderate, issued a separate dissent, citing what he thought was unclear language.

A majority of the liberal-leaning court — justices Barbara Pariente, James E.C. Perry, Peggy Quince and Fred Lewis — pointed out that, under the plain text of the amendment, physicians had to use sound medical judgment, conduct a thorough exam and recommend marijuana in writing for those who suffered from debilitating medical conditions — a clause that Polston essentially ignored.

Medical marijuana took on a more-partisan hue last year when Orlando trial attorney John Morgan — a major Democratic donor and Crist’s employer — took over the group to underwrite the rewriting of the initiative and a petition drive needed to collect enough verified voter signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

Morgan said he is not playing partisan politics or trying to help Crist with the amendment, which is heavily backed by young and Democratic voters. Morgan noted polls show that support for the initiative cuts across all age, ethnic, racial, demographic and partisan lines.

“The criticism of partisanship is made by people who are conspiracy theorists. If I wanted to help Charlie Crist, I would just have given him $4 million directly, not spent it this way,” Morgan said.

“If the Florida Legislature thinks this is a partisan issue, I call on them to open their minds, start hearing evidence and testimony from experts and sick people and their advocates,” Morgan said. “Why not have hearings in the sunshine so people can hear the facts?”

A main driver of the opposition, Clearwater-based Save Our Society from Drugs, has Republican ties: Founder Mel Sembler is a longtime GOP fundraiser. He was appointed ambassador to Australia and Nauru by President George H.W. Bush and then was appointed ambassador to Italy by President George W. Bush.

As does Morgan, the Clearwater group says its position is about healthcare and not politics.

With the amendment on the ballot in the gubernatorial election year, consultants and voting experts say it is an open question whether it will help Democrats or hurt Republicans.

Prior state constitutional amendments had no discernable impact on other statewide races. A successful 2010 anti-gerrymandering amendment pushed by liberal groups did nothing to stop conservatives from racking up historic wins that year.

And a successful 2008 amendment banning gay marriage that conservatives drafted did nothing to stop President Barack Obama and Democrats from making big gains.

Last week, after Morgan and his group spent about $4 million, the state confirmed that People United had collected 734,405 verified voter signatures, more than required.

Despite clearing the tall hurdles of collecting signatures and arguing the case before the Supreme Court, People United and its backers know they are in for a difficult fight. Morgan said he believes the pharmaceutical and the corrections industries might try to defeat the amendment.

The Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Association of Chiefs of Police, which tried to stop the amendment in court, plan to step up their criticism through the year.

“This medical marijuana initiative is a fraud that’s being perpetuated against the compassionate people of the state of Florida — it is not about helping people,”’ said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association. “It’s about legalizing marijuana for recreational use.”

He said anecdotal evidence from states that have passed similar provisions shows “people have been able to receive recommendations for medical marijuana for menstrual cramps, back pain and test anxiety.”

The amendment names nine specific medical conditions: cancer, glaucoma, human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV), acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

But physicians could recommend marijuana for other ailments if, after conducting an examination, they determine cannabis would help patients more than it would hurt them.

To opponents, that last clause allowing for medical marijuana in unspecified cases is a major loophole that could allow the “unfettered” prescribing of the drug.

In at least two states — Washington and Colorado — the legalization of medical marijuana was a precursor to outright marijuana decriminalization. In both cases, voters decided the laws. Unlike Florida, those states do not require super-majority votes of the citizenry to enact such measures.

Recent state and national polls have shown that support for medical marijuana has increased, as well as support for complete legalization of cannabis.

If the amendment passes, qualifying patients and doctors would receive instant protection from prosecution or punishment in most cases. But the Department of Health has six to nine months to make rules governing the finer points of the program. The amendment does not give people permission to grow marijuana.

As support increased and People United showed signs of success, state lawmakers began giving more consideration to proposals to allow the limited use of medical cannabis, after years of quashing discussion of the issue.

That limited proposal is aimed at a niche strain of marijuana called “Charlotte’s Web,” which contains a low level of psychoactive THC and a stronger level of a substance called CBD, which parents and physicians say helps prevent severe epileptic attacks, especially in children.

But that legislative proposal, which is being resisted by some Republican leaders, is far more limited in scope than the proposed constitutional amendment.

After repeatedly sponsoring medical-marijuana proposals in the Legislature, state Rep. Katie Edwards, D-Plantation, recently joined with Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz — the Senate president’s son — to push the Charlotte’s Web proposal.

Edwards called the Supreme Court ruling a “step in the right direction.”

“The bottom line is the Legislature has forced people to go this route,” Edwards said. “Had we acted last year, had we reacted to patients, we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“If I were Will Weatherford,” she said, referring to the House speaker, “I’d be worried about my members.”

Weatherford said in a statement that he accepted the court’s decision, which he described as “unique and unprecedented legal reasoning.”

Weatherford said he had “faith” that “voters will do their homework and understand the impact of this truly radical proposal. Make no mistake: This is not about compassionate medical marijuana. This is about the Coloradofication of Florida, where the endgame is a pot shop on every street corner.”

Florida marijuana petition meets criteria for November ballot

TALLAHASSEE (Reuters) - A petition drive to allow medical use of marijuana by patients with a debilitating disease cleared a major hurdle on Friday, surpassing the number of signatures needed for a spot on Florida's election ballot.

The issue is still pending before the state Supreme Court, which has until April 1 to determine whether the ballot language meets state standards.

If the petition is approved by 60 percent of voters in November, Florida would become the first southern U.S. state, joining 20 other states in approving marijuana for medical use.

A Quinnipiac University Polling Institute survey late last year showed 82 percent public support for the amendment, if it gets on the ballot. A constitutional amendment in Florida requires 60 percent voter approval for adoption.

The state Division of Elections recorded on Friday that petition signatures of 710,508 Florida voters had been certified by county elections supervisors. The initiative also crossed the minimum signature threshold in at least 14 congressional districts, as required by law.

People United for Medical Marijuana, the campaign committee behind the United for Care petition drive, announced Friday it had met the February 1 deadline for certifying at least 683,149 voter signatures.

Ben Pollara, campaign manager for United for Care, said more than 1.1 million signatures were submitted to county elections supervisors. A rejection rate of about 20 percent is anticipated, due to non-voters signing petitions or some people signing twice.

"This is an amazing feat. I have to admit, less than a year ago I never thought we'd see this day," Pollara wrote in a message to volunteers and donors.

The Supreme Court heard arguments December 5 on a petition by Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose office contended that the petition language does not comply with legal requirements. Florida's Republican Governor Rick Scott opposes the ballot initiative, as do the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Sheriff's Association.

Legal briefs by Bondi and other opponents said the ballot language misleads voters by implying state law can supersede federal marijuana statutes, and that the measure is so broad that the drug could be prescribed for virtually any minor medical condition.

Former University of Florida law school dean Jon Mills argued, however, that the amendment is tightly drawn so that only licensed physicians could prescribe medical pot, and only for debilitating diseases.

United for Care argued in court that the amendment clearly sets forth its intention and that physicians would not be allowed to prescribe pot for frivolous health complaints.

Pollara estimated the November ballot campaign will cost up to $10 million, on top of $3 million already spent by Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, who paid much of the cost of volunteers circulating petitions and the 10-cents-a-name certification fee.

Pollara estimated 6 million to 7 million voters will turn out in Florida's November election. "We've been in signature mode for the last few months," he said, "but we're now forming our general election budget plan. It won't be cheap."

By Bill Cotterell

Colorado Becomes First State to License Sale of Marijuana for Recreational Use

Colorado on Monday became the first state in the country to issue special licenses for recreational-marijuana businesses.

After weeks of scrutiny of applications, officials at the state's Marijuana Enforcement Division slipped 348 approved licenses into the mail and sent them out to stores, product-makers and cultivation facilities. Those businesses could begin producing and selling marijuana to anyone over 21 on Jan. 1, assuming the businesses also have the approval of their local governments.

The number includes 136 marijuana shops, most of which are in Denver.

Marijuana advocates hailed the finalized licenses as a watershed moment for Colorado's legalization of cannabis, which voters approved in November 2012.

"Colorado will be the first state to have a legal marijuana market for adults," said Mason Tvert, a Denver-based spokesman for the Marijuana Policy Project and one of the leaders of Colorado's legalization push. "We expect it to set an example for other states."

Opponents of legalization, though, said the licenses are another step in what they fear is an increasingly disastrous pot policy.

"We're seeing ... a massive marijuana industry growing before our eyes," said Kevin Sabet, who is with a national anti-marijuana group called Project SAM. "I hope it's not going to be too late before we realize that the road we're on is going to produce a massive public health problem and public safety problem in Colorado."

State marijuana regulators have previously said they would make a decision on the hundreds of recreational cannabis business applications submitted in October by the end of the year. And it appears they denied very few — if any — applications in doing so.

At the end of October, the state had received 136 applications for recreational marijuana shops, 28 applications for marijuana-infused products companies and 174 applications for marijuana-growing facilities. More applications trickled in after the October deadline, and state officials said some of those might also be acted upon by Jan. 1.

The approved licenses sent out Monday are for 136 stores, 31 products companies, 178 growing facilities and three marijuana-testing labs. Julie Postlethwait, a spokeswoman for the Marijuana Enforcement Division, said she couldn't confirm whether any applications have been denied.

Other state officials praised the division for meeting tight deadlines in issuing the licenses. Amendment 64, the measure that legalized marijuana use and limited possession in Colorado for people over 21, gives the state only 90 days to make a decision on an application.

"It has taken an enormous team effort to be able to issue state licenses in the timelines identified in Amendment 64," Barbara Brohl, the head of Colorado's Department of Revenue, said in a statement.

Because would-be pot shops face significant challenges in obtaining local licenses, the state's approval on Monday does not mean that 136 recreational marijuana stores will be open on Jan. 1.

For instance, in Denver — where the state has signed off on applications for 102 recreational marijuana stores — only eight stores have so far cleared all the hurdles in the local licensing process.

And not every business that receives the necessary state and local OKs before the end of the year will be selling recreational marijuana on Jan. 1.

Norton Arbelaez, co-owner of RiverRock Wellness dispensaries in Denver, said he does not plan to add recreational sales until probably mid-February because of all the uncertainty in the new market.

"There are just so many questions in terms of pricing, is there going to be scarcity, or some kind of lack of product in January that is going to lead to the price of the product doubling or tripling?" he said. "There's a lot of unknowns."

John Ingold: 303-954-1068, jingold@denverpost.com or twitter.com/john_ingold

Staff writer Eric Gorski contributed to this report.

Hey Florida - Medical Marijuana Works Says Irvin Rosenfeld

Fort Lauderdale stockbroker 'living proof' medical marijuana works

After 130,000 joints and 31 years in federal program, Irvin Rosenfeld backs Florida amendment drive

Irvin Rosenfeld is Florida's only legal pot smoker. His marijuana provider? The federal government. Since 1982, as part of an experimental drug program, Rosenfeld has received a monthly tin with 300 fat joints – about nine ounces – grown by the feds on a farm at the University of Mississippi.

Rosenfeld, 60, a Fort Lauderdale stockbroker with a painful chronic bone tumor disorder, carries a prescription bag with his marijuana cigarettes to work. When I visited him at his office last week, he took a hit off a smokeless vapor pipe, which he sometimes uses when the market gets hectic. But he prefers smoking, which he says is more beneficial in getting the plant's full medicinal effects.

Every few hours, he ducks into a parking garage, greets the standard tobacco junkies puffing away during their smoke breaks, and lights up.

With the Florida Supreme Court about to decide whether a constitutional amendment to legalize medical marijuana can appear on the November 2014 ballot, I figured it would a good time to catch up with Rosenfeld. Ask him if medical marijuana works, and he says, "I'm living proof."

"I consider myself a very healthy disabled person – a productive member of society who's able to work every day in a very stressful business," Rosenfeld told me.

Marijuana doesn't make him high, he says, but provides pain management without the harsh side effects of narcotics. When I first met him in 2005, he called pot "a godsend for me." After 31 years and more than 130,000 joints, Rosenfeld said this week that his lungs and mind are clear. Every six months, Rosenfeld and his sponsoring physician send a report to the feds about his treatment.

Rosenfeld should be Exhibit A in the fight for medical marijuana, yet organizers of Florida's petition drive to get the amendment on the 2014 ballot haven't reached out to him. Rosenfeld said he has called John Morgan, the Tampa attorney spearheading the effort, three times and hasn't heard back.

"I don't feel slighted so much as disappointed that they don't use my expertise with everything I've been through," Rosenfeld said.

Rosenfeld, who favors full legalization of marijuana, said he supports the amendment with reservations. He said it would be better if the issue didn't have to go the constitutional amendment route, but realizes there's little hope of Florida legislators taking direct action. Medical marijuana bills failed to get any hearings last session. If the amendment reaches the ballot, it will need 60 percent voter approval to pass.

Rosenfeld is one of four surviving patients in the federal government's Compassionate Investigative New Drug progam, which began in 1976 and stopped accepting new patients in 1992. Not many people realize that Rosenfeld or the program exist. Especially since the same federal government that grows and ships Rosenfeld's supply still officially classifies marijuana as a dangerous drug with "no accepted medical use," on par with heroin and LSD.

"It's very frustrating," Rosenfeld says of the feds' inconsistency. Medical marijuana is now legal in 20 states and the District of Columbia, in direct conflict with federal law. A court battle along the lines of the gay-marriage fight seems inevitable.

"We trust our physicians to make decisions every day when it comes to prescribing narcotics," Rosenfeld said. "They should be able to do the same with marijuana."

Poll: 82 Percent Favor Medical Marijuana In Florida

If a medical marijuana initiative makes Florida’s ballot next year, it could pass with an astonishing 82 percent of the vote, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday that finds voters also favor outright legalization as well.

Support for the proposed constitutional amendment is strong among voters of every political stripe, age and income level, with independents lending the most support: 88 percent, the poll shows.

The overall 82-16 percent support for medical marijuana is the biggest to date. The previous high-point for Florida approval was about 70 percent in a poll taken earlier this year by the medical-marijuana advocacy group, People United for Medical Marijuana.

There are some differences in wording between the initiative and the Quinnipiac poll; the amendment says doctors can "recommend" marijuana, the poll asks if a doctor should be able to "prescribe" it.

Still, medical marijuana is clearly popular. And marijuana legalization is becoming more-liked as well, albeit narrowly.

Nearly half of Florida voters favor it — 48 percent — while 46 percent oppose pot legalization for personal use. That’s within the margin of error, but it’s a leading indicator of a shift in public opinion. Support for legalization is again strongest among independents (57-37 percent), and then Democrats (55-39 percent).

But Republicans are opposed 30-64 percent. Contrast that with GOP voter support for medical marijuana is solid: 70-26 percent.

One early poll and analysis from People United found that medical-marijuana was so popular that it could alter the course of the governor’s race.

Republican Gov. Rick Scott opposes medical marijuana; Democrats Charlie Crist and Nan Rich support the initiative, which is funded and led by Crist’s employer, trial attorney John Morgan, a Democratic donor. A major Florida Republican donor, former ambassador Mel Sembler, is opposing the measure through his Drug Free America Foundation.

In the race for governor, the Quinnipiac poll found Scott trailed Crist poll by 7 percentage points, 40-47 percent. That’s an improvement for Scott, however, compared to the last Quinnipiac Poll in June, when the governor trailed by 10 percentage points.

Since Quinnipiac’s last poll in June, Crist has lost some standing among independent voters. One possible reason: As soon as the former governor announced he was running for office, Scott began attacking him in television ads that began running a full year before the election.

As for medical marijuana’s fate, the proposed amendment — which takes 60 percent voter approval to pass in Florida — appears to be on an easy path to victory at the moment. But only if it makes the ballot.

The Florida legislative leaders and the state’s Attorney General want the state Supreme Court to block the measure from the ballot, saying the ballot summary is misleading and that it violates a rule that limits the scope of a constitutional amendment to a single subject. People United for Medical Marijuana, the advocacy group pushing the measure, say the criticisms are false.

“This poll shows yet again that Floridians overwhelmingly support a compassionate medical marijuana policy in Florida, despite the continued opposition of out-of-touch, Tallahassee politicians like Pam Bondi,” said Ben Pollara, treasurer for People United.

The Florida Supreme Court will hear the matter next month.

Even if it passes constitutional muster, People United needs to collect 683,149 verified voter signatures by February. People United has gathered 200,000 so far, of which more than 110,000 had been verified last month.

In November, Miami Beach voters approved a non-binding straw poll calling for medical marijuana by 64 percent.

A number of critics are starting to more actively denounce the measure in Florida.

Grady Judd, Polk County’s sheriff and the head of the Florida Sheriffs Association, likened marijuana to more dangerous drugs and pointed criticisms about the effectiveness of marijuana as medicine from the Florida Medical Association, American Cancer Society and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

“Lawmakers and law enforcement have worked tirelessly to get Florida’s crime rate to its current 42-year low,” Judd said in a statement. “Let’s not roll back that progress by legalizing a drug with no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.”