No. HB 719
Filed under Healthcare.
Medical Use of Marijuana; Authorizes patient prescribed certain opioid drugs to qualify to receive marijuana or marijuana delivery device; requires qualified physician to conduct in-person or telehealth examination before issuing or renewing certification; requires qualified physician to submit certain documentation to Board of Medicine or Board of Osteopathic Medicine for patients prescribed certain opioid drugs; revises supply limits qualified physician may issue & frequency of patient evaluations required for issuance of new physician certification; revises penalties; requires medical marijuana use registry ID cards to be renewed biennially rather than annually; requires DOH to establish processes & procedures for issuance & registration of medical marijuana use registry ID cards for certain nonresidents; authorizes visiting qualified patients to engage in in all conduct authorized for qualified patient; requires waiver of certain fees for honorably discharged veterans.
Plain English Summary
AI-GENERATEDAnyone currently prescribed a Schedule II opioid now qualifies for medical marijuana certification, even without one of the medical conditions the law otherwise requires, if the physician documents that prescription to the state medical board.
Physicians may now use an in-person visit or a telehealth exam before issuing or renewing a certification, instead of reserving telehealth for renewals only after an initial in-person visit.
Physicians may now certify up to ten 70-day supply limits of marijuana, up from three, and twenty 35-day supply limits for smokable marijuana, up from six, while only needing to re-evaluate existing patients every 104 weeks instead of every 30.
Registry ID cards for residents renew every two years instead of annually. Out-of-state medical marijuana patients can now get Florida cards within one business day and do everything a Florida patient can, and card fees are waived for honorably discharged veterans.
AIA patient qualifies for medical marijuana certification if a physician has prescribed them a Schedule II opioid, even without any of the other medical conditions the law lists. The certifying physician must send the Board of Medicine or Board of Osteopathic Medicine documentation of that prescription within 14 days.
AIPreviously only an initial in-person exam let a physician issue a certification, with telehealth reserved for later renewals. Now the same in-person-or-telehealth exam standard applies whether the physician is issuing a certification or renewing one.
AIA physician certification may now authorize up to ten 70-day supply limits of marijuana, up from three, and up to twenty 35-day supply limits for smokable marijuana, up from six, letting one certification cover far more product before a new one is needed.
AIA qualified physician must now re-examine an existing patient at least once every 104 weeks, about two years, before issuing a new certification, instead of every 30 weeks, letting patients go far longer between required physician evaluations.
AIThe department must create a process, completed within one business day, to issue Florida registry cards to nonresidents enrolled in another jurisdiction's recognized medical cannabis program. Once registered as a visiting qualified patient, that person may do anything a Florida qualified patient may do.
AIMedical marijuana registry identification cards for resident qualified patients and caregivers must now be renewed once every two years instead of every year, cutting the renewal burden in half.
AIThe department must waive all identification-card issuance, replacement, and renewal fees for any veteran who was honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces.