Pubdate: Sat, 20 Sep 2014
Source: Tampa Tribune (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Tribune Co.
Contact: http://tbo.com/list/news-opinion-letters/submit/
Website: http://tbo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/446
Author: Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster
Page: B4

MEDICAL MARIJUANA HAS CITIES IN QUANDRY

It Is Unknown If Local Rules Will Affect Regulation

The goal is to be proactive.

Yet as local governments consider ordinances related to medical
marijuana, experts said it's not entirely clear whether local laws
will carry any weight if a constitutional amendment legalizing
marijuana for medicinal purposes passes.

'I think this is one of those circumstances where you really don't
know what is going to happen until (the state Department of Health)
starts making rules and the Legislature starts looking at it,' said
Ryan Padgett, assistant general counsel for the Florida League of
Cities. 'But I think that's why cities are trying to get ahead of the
curve.' Florida voters will decide on Nov. 4 whether to pass Amendment
2, which would allow medical use of marijuana for people with
debilitating diseases, as determined by a licensed Florida doctor.

The amendment must pass by a 60 percent majority.

The amendment includes language instructing the Department of Health
to set 'reasonable regulations necessary for the implementation and
enforcement' of the amendment. However it does not address what local
governments can do when it comes to regulation.

'Most of the responsibility is left up to the state Department of
Health and the Legislature,' said Ben Pollara, campaign manager for
Tampa-based United for Care, the organization backing the amendment.
'I would hope in the process they give a pretty wide berth to local
governments to put in place medical marijuana businesses in a way they
feel fits.' More than a dozen local governments have either adopted
regulations or are considering regulations. In Naples, officials have
discussed a ban on all medical marijuana businesses, while Bonita
Springs' officials have discussed a ban on smoking medical marijuana
in public.

If approved, the constitutional amendment would go into effect on Jan.
6. But don't expect dispensaries and treatment centers to start
popping up shortly after the new year.

The Department of Health would have until July 6 to come up with the
procedures which must be followed, including regulations to establish
a treatment center.

The department would also have until July 6 to come up with procedures
for patients and caregiver identification cards.

The department would then have until Oct. 6, 2015, to begin issuing
the identification cards and registering medical marijuana treatment
centers.

A Department of Health spokesman said the department is focused on the
'implementation of the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014.'
Lawmakers this year passed the measure, which helps patients get
access to a strain of marijuana that is high in cannabidiol and low in
the euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol. The measure is not related
to Amendment 2.

The spokesman would not speculate on what actions it would take if the
amendment passes in November.

Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, said the state Legislature would also need
to pass implementing language. It's in that process where state
lawmakers could put in statutory language pre-empting local laws.

Hudson said he was 'not entirely sure' whether a local ordinance
passed before passage of the amendment would hold up once all of the
rule-making is completed.

Ken Bell, a former state Supreme Court justice, said the lack of local
control is one of the reasons why the issue shouldn't be on the ballot.

'Will local communities be able to propose regulations?' he said.
'There's nothing in the provision that gives them the power to do so.'
Bell said had the measure went through the legislative process,
lawmakers could have enacted laws and developed rules and
regulations.

By putting the issue on the ballot, Bell said the issue will go from
'constitution to department and skips the Legislature.'
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MAP posted-by: Matt