Contact:
Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU)
medicalmarijuanause@flhealth.gov
tel: (850) 245-4657 open weekdays,
8am-5pm (excluding state holidays)

OMMU WEEKLY UPDATE

The Florida Department of Health’s (DOH) continues to focus on the health and safety of Florida’s families and is dedicated to ensuring patients have safe access to low-THC cannabis and medical marijuana. We are pleased to provide this weekly update on the DOH Office of Medical Marijuana Use’s (OMMU) diligent work implementing the many requirements in Amendment 2 and those set by the Florida Legislature in Senate Bill 8A. This week, DOH and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services held a public workshop to discuss the proposed rule regarding pesticide use. 

OMMU by the Numbers

Implementation Updates

• Low-THC cannabis and medical marijuana has been and continues to be available for qualified patients. Patients may search for qualified ordering physicians using the new search tool on the OMMU Patients Page.  Patients and caregivers may fill their orders at any of the 27 dispensing locations, or via delivery from approved MMTCs below.
• On Friday, February 23, the DOH and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services held a public workshop to discuss the proposed rule regarding pesticide use. If you were unable to participate in the hearing, you may submit a public comment on proposed rule 64-4.013 Pesticide Use on Marijuana through Friday, March 2. You may submit written comment through the OMMU site here.
• The OMMU has made changes to the Medical Marijuana Use Registry that eliminate the need for patients to submit a passport-style photograph if they  have a Florida issued driver’s license or identification card. Instead, when a qualified ordering physician enters a patient into the registry it automatically accesses the patient’s Florida Driver’s License or Florida identification card photograph directly from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (HSMV) system. Their photo is then populated in the patient’s online identification card application. Passport-style photographs will still need to be submitted for those applicants who are not in the HSMV system. For more information click here.
• The mailing address for Patient and Caregiver ID card applications has changed:
  PO Box 31313, Tampa, FL 33631-3313

Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers

Legal Updates

The implementation of Amendment 2 and Senate Bill 8A continues to be frequently litigated. While some of these lawsuits have little impact on our progress, others – particularly those regarding the constitutionality of the law we are tasked with executing – have significant impact on DOH’s ability to implement certain requirements of Senate Bill 8A.

General Background Information

Medical Marijuana ID Card Application Process: Once a patient has been diagnosed by a qualified ordering physician and entered into the Medical Marijuana Use Registry, they can immediately begin the identification card application process. The department encourages applicants to complete the process online as this decreases processing time. Patients receive an email from OMMU once their email is added to the registry by their qualified ordering physician which directs them to the application. Once an application is reviewed and approved, patients receive an approval email which can be used to fill an order at an approved MMTC while they await their physical card.

Medical Marijuana Use Registry: All orders for medical marijuana are recorded and dispensed via the Medical Marijuana Use Registry. The Medical Marijuana Use Registry is accessible online, with real time information to ordering physicians, law enforcement and medical marijuana treatment center staff. Patients and caregivers may also access the Medical Marijuana Use Registry to submit a Medical Marijuana Use Registry Identification Card application, and check the status of their application.

Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers: Approved medical marijuana treatment centers are the only businesses allowed to grow, process, or sell medical marijuana in Florida. Each medical marijuana treatment center must receive authorization at three stages, (1) cultivation authorization, (2) processing authorization, and (3) dispensing authorization, prior to dispensing low-THC cannabis or medical marijuana. Medical marijuana cannot be mailed.

For more information visit www.flhealth.gov/ommu

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.

Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information about the Florida Department of Health please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.