Lung Injury Associated with E-Cigarette Use, or Vaping* - Florida 10/11/2019 |
Link continues to update with information. Latest from the Florida Department of Health on the Vape Lung Illness Crisis. The number of vape lung illnesses increased from 27 to 39. When will Governor DeSantis announce his plan to fight against this crisis? According to the CDC, most cases are linked to vaped marijuana (THC). What is the FL medical marijuana industry doing to protect patients? Vaping, Florida, Death |
2020 Feb- Marijuana Update Florida 02/24/2020 |
The real cost in legalizing marijuana can be counted by the lives impacted- addiction, vaping, dispensing, traffic deaths, suicides, overdoses, …
Colorado, suicide, addiction, Florida, Brain |
Hillsborough becomes latest to ease marijuana laws 02/20/2020 |
Some parents, however, have concerns. Teresa Miller believes marijuana triggered her son's dangerous drug habit.
"Twelve years ago, my son was smoking marijuana," she said. "Within a year, he springboarded to severe opioid addiction."
Miller is worried someone can now be caught with 20 grams of pot and face minimal punishment.
"Twenty grams is conservatively 60 joints. That's a lot. You're not going to be carrying that around for personal use. So I'm a little concerned that it was that high of grams. I think it should be less," she said. "I'm really hoping and praying that people don't decide, 'Well, since it's semi-legal and I'm not going to go to jail, that I can use it.'" miller, Hillsborough, Florida, Laws |
Hillsborough County approves regulations on selling, using vaping products 11/06/2019 |
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners has determined that the prohibition on the sale, possession, and use of vapor‐generating electronic devices and vapor products should be extended to include young adults under the age of 21. Vaping, tampa, Florida |
2019 10 Florida Medical Marijuana 10/17/2019 |
The Florida medical marijuana market continues to expand at a rapid pace.
The two publicly held companies with the largest presence in the state are Trulieve followed by Curaleaf.
Extensive Florida operations have allowed Trulieve and Curaleaf to avoid the bear market that has engulfed multi-state operators MedMen, Acreage Holdings and Harvest Health.
Acreage Holdings' lack of ANY sales in Florida sends a strong signal that it is adrift. Florida, Medical |
Florida Medical Marijuana Usage 10/17/2019 |
Florida, Medical |
An Update On The Florida Medical Marijuana Market 10/14/2019 |
The Florida medical marijuana market continues to expand at a rapid pace.
The two publicly held companies with the largest presence in the state are Trulieve followed by Curaleaf.
Extensive Florida operations have allowed Trulieve and Curaleaf to avoid the bear market that has engulfed multi-state operators MedMen, Acreage Holdings and Harvest Health.
Acreage Hold Medical, Florida |
2019 Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey 10/09/2019 |
Florida, youth, Survey |
Florida Department of Health reports first death from vaping-related illness 09/25/2019 |
According to the department's statistics , there's been 27 reported cases of lung injury connected to vaping in Florida in 2019 and one death. Vaping, Florida |
FL DOH MM 05/18/2019 |
Florida |
Adolescent Marijuana Use increases in Florida 04/30/2019 |
Adolescent Marijuana Use increases in Florida adolescence, Florida |
2017 Annual Report- Florida Medical Examiner 11/01/2018 |
The seven most frequently occurring drugs found in decedents were ethyl alcohol (5,258), benzodiazepines (5,064, including 1,889 alprazolam occurrences), cocaine (3,129), cannabinoids (2,367), fentanyl (2,088), morphine (1,992), and fentanyl analogs (1,685). Since heroin is rapidly metabolized to morphine, this may lead to a substantial over-reporting of morphine-related deaths as well as significant under-reporting of heroin-related deaths.
Cannabinoids 7 (cause of death) 2,360 (present) 2,367 (total)
fatal, Florida, Death |
Florida’s medical marijuana program is attracting troubled doctors: ‘It’s like the Wild Wild West’ 05/16/2018 |
"Marijuana doctors were 2.8 times as likely as other doctors to have been disciplined by the Board of Medicine, and 2.4 times as likely to have been charged with a crime. Altogether, 108 of them were responsible for $69.4 million in malpractice judgments and settlements, some for maiming or killing patients. Some of the doctors have been fined, suspended or stripped of their licenses in other states. They’ve misdiagnosed conditions, falsified records and written prescriptions for people they never saw. They’ve been jailed for domestic violence. A few have sexually abused patients, including those as young as 14 and 16." PotDocs, Florida, Malpractice |
Florida's young medical marijuana industry takes off 04/28/2018 |
Florida has lowered the original cost of the fee for doctors to be licensed to prescribe medical marijuana to $250 from $1,000 and reduced the training time to two hours from eight. It has increased the number of physicians able to recommend medical marijuana by 48 percent since the beginning of the year.
“We are looking at Florida as the biggest medical marijuana market in the United States,” he said. “As more dispensaries open and more doctors get qualified, you reach a critical mass at some point where more and more people are hearing about it and it’s easier to go to a dispensary.” Florida, money, profit |
Drive Baked Get Busted 04/13/2018 |

Florida, impaired, drugged driving |
2016 Florida Traffic Crash Facts 01/09/2018 |
Please note that the 2015 crash report included "alcohol-suspected" crash data. In the 2016 crash report, only alcohol confirmed data is used. Hillsborough is #2 in alcohol confirmed fatalities and Orange County is #1. Hillsborough is #1 in alcohol confirmed crashes AND drug confirmed crashes. :-(
Florida
Fatal crashes up 8.74% from 2015
Alcohol confirmed fatalities down 9.25%
Hillsborough
Alcohol confirmed crashes 546
alcohol confirmed injuries 271
alcohol confirmed fatalities 42
Drug confirmed crashes- 60 Florida, car crashes |
Kissimmee officials have voted to ban medical marijuana dispensaries 08/28/2017 |
Kissimmee commissioners voted 4 to 1 to ban the dispensaries from opening in town. They don’t believe there is room to regulate effectively the way the law is currently written. Ban, Kissimmee, City Council, Florida, Florida Ban |
2017 SB 8-A Medical Marijuana Bill in Florida 06/28/2017 |
Florida, 2017 Legislation |
Miami Beach Wants Ultrastrict Medical Pot Rules: "Odor Management," 21-and-Up Patients, and Visitor Logs 05/21/2017 |
Commissioners will consider banning anyone under 21, requiring dispensaries to keep visitor logs and extensive surveillance cameras, and even imposing "odor maintenance plans" on the three dispensaries the city plans to allow in designated zones. zoning, moratorium, Miami, Florida |
Cost of heroin epidemic tops $1 billion a year in Florida 12/22/2016 |
heroin, Florida, opioid |
FLORIDA DUI arrest rates 12/21/2016 |
Florida, DUI, Arrest, county |
Lawmakers look at the next steps for medical marijuana 12/13/2016 |
"If we don't aggressively seek to limit the use and sale of marijuana, our country and state as we know it will never be the same. Florida will be trading our beautiful white, sandy beaches filled with vacationing families for a hazy, skunk-smelling coastline laden with unemployable, unmotivated homeless people," said Teresa Miller, a drug prevention activist and founder of the "no2pot.org" website.
Amendment 2, Senate, Florida, 2016, miller |
Wellington parents sue over daughter’s 2015 death on motor scooter 12/08/2016 |
In hopes of protecting others from their daughter’s fate, her parents last year persuaded Florida Rep. Dave Kerner, D-Lake Worth, to propose a bill that would allow law enforcement to charge people with additional crimes if they were under the influence of marijuana when involved in a crash in which someone was seriously hurt. wellington, Florida, palm beach, Fatalities |
Pot business hazy over impacts from legalized medical marijuana in Florida 11/21/2016 |
It is about money not medicine. If the number of patients exceeds 250,000 anytime soon in 2017, Bradley said he could see the medicinal marijuana growing businesses jump from a half dozen “to nine or 10 in short order under current law.” Florida |
Tampa City Council approves six month moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries 11/17/2016 |
tampa, Florida, moratorium, Snelling, miller, Firth, City Council |
City limits medical marijuana distribution, cultivation 08/17/2016 |
The ordinance limits the approved area of medical marijuana dispensaries to just under 4 acres next to South Florida Baptist Hospital and Maryland Fried Chicken in the C1-B Neighborhood Business District. Additionally, medical marijuana dispensaries in Plant City must be at least 500 feet from any pre-existing school, church, daycare facility, substance abuse treatment facility, public park or residential area. plant city, Florida, limits |
First Home Delivery- Pasco 07/24/2016 |
Dispensing organizations can do mail delivery throughout the state. Six approved organizations have received cultivation authorization but Trulieve is the only one that has received dispensing authorization. According to an Office of Compassionate Use webinar held last month, dispensaries are expected to be in 18 cities by the time all organizations are up and running. Florida, Pasco |
Florida man had 84 bags of THC-laced gummy candy in car 06/25/2016 |
Officers searched Calloway’s vehicle after smelling the pot. Officers say they found 22.9 grams of hash oil, 2,320 grams of pot and 84 bags of gummy candies laced with THC. edibles, Florida, tampa |
Amendment 2- Top 5 Points to Understand 05/19/2016 |
An Amendment IS NOT legalizing an FDA approved medication... IT IS NOT A PRESCRIPTION.
NO MEDICAL ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS AMENDMENTS or BILLS... not ethically or morally right to legalize via popular vote. Amendment 2, Florida |
Ezzie Harris Rips The Scab Off: Orlando/Orange County 2016 Murder Rate Reaching For 100 05/16/2016 |
Friends, I make no bones about not being politically correct; neither do I apologize. But I would be the first to acknowledge that uneducated/unemployed weed-smoking/drug-crazed young black males are single-handedly responsible for the huge spike in the homicide rate. And this is being seen all across the country. crime, murder, homicide, Florida, orlando |
Wellington teen's death sparks new marijuana legislation 03/14/2016 |
Naomi Pomerance loved music and dance. And judging by the 500 people who turned out for her funeral, the 16-year-old Wellington girl was herself much beloved.
Naomi was killed March 28 when the Honda Rukus scooter on which she was a passenger ran a red light and T-boned a Toyota 4Runner, according to a police report. Florida, Fatalities, car crashes |
Tampa City Council to vote March 3 on decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana 02/18/2016 |
"Many adolescents and young adults hear that marijuana is harmless," Miller said. "This is a myth. Research shows that the brain continues to grow until the age of 25. Marijuana is extremely harmful to the developing brain."
Officials in St. Petersburg also have discussed a similar de-escalation of the war on this particular drug. Last year, Miami-Dade, Miami Beach, Fernandina Beach and Hallandale Beach all launched citation programs. tampa, Florida, decriminalization |
Tampa students ate marijuana candy 02/12/2016 |
Citrus Park, Florida -- Two students at Sergeant Smith Middle School were rushed to the hospital on Thursday after they ate marijuana-infused candy. According to a source, the boys were given the edible marijuana that looked like Fruit Loops by a third student. edibles, Florida, tampa |
Day crash in Key Biscayne that killed woman 02/11/2016 |
Medina's back seat passenger, Daniela Benavides San Miguel, 18, was killed in the crash. Benavides San Miguel had graduated from Gulliver Preparatory last spring and was a freshman at Pepperdine University in California.
A passenger in the front seat, Mathew Saldana, 17, was injured in the crash. Medina and Saldana were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center with head injuries.
According to a court document, toxicology reports showed that Medina tested positive for marijuana. Fatalities, car crashes, Florida |
Miami Man Manufactured Marijuana-Laced Candy: Police 11/07/2015 |
Inside the home, police found drug paraphernalia, and plastic baggies containing what appeared to be pot-laced push pops, chocolate bars, and other various marijuana infused candies. edibles, Florida |
UF researchers granted $1 million for epilepsy study 11/05/2015 |
The project is intended to treat 50 children from ages 2 to 16 living with epilepsy that have exhausted most of their treatment options, Carney said.
Every step of the three-year study will be meticulously tracked. Patients will check-in at regular intervals and the researchers will examine how the children are responding, Carney said.
All subjects will be clinically evaluated and seizure frequency will be recorded in a diary given to patients, according to the ClinicalTrials.gov website.
“Through this research, we want to learn about what type of children respond, if they can tolerate the medication and if there are any side effects we need to worry about,” Carney said.
The study will begin later this summer and participants are still being accepted, Carney said.The project is intended to treat 50 children from ages 2 to 16 living with epilepsy that have exhausted most of their treatment options, Carney said.
Every step of the three-year study will be meticulously tracked. Patients will check-in at regular intervals and the researchers will examine how the children are responding, Carney said.
All subjects will be clinically evaluated and seizure frequency will be recorded in a diary given to patients, according to the ClinicalTrials.gov website.
“Through this research, we want to learn about what type of children respond, if they can tolerate the medication and if there are any side effects we need to worry about,” Carney said.
The study will begin later this summer and participants are still being accepted, Carney said. Epidiolex, Orphan Study, Florida |
Florida Highway Safety & Motor Vehicle Report 2014 07/31/2015 |
Florida, Report, driving |
2015-07-07 00:00:00 07/07/2015 |
Ellen Snelling, chairman of the Anti-Drug Alliance, lives in Temple Terrace and often participates in the parade. She said the float and the NORML organizers who accompanied it and handed out fliers were out of place at a family-friendly event.
“When you promote drug legalization on a float in a parade, it can give a really bad message to children,” Snelling said. “I believe in free speech, but I think there is a time and a place to conduct speech referring to legalization of drugs, and a children’s parade is not that place.”
Snelling also questioned if the members of the Central Florida NORML chapter used deception to get the float in the parade. She said when she first saw the float it was an unadorned boat, but when she came back 20 minutes later, the wagon was festooned with NORML banners. Atop the green and white float was a fake 10-foot marijuana cigarette, painted red on the tip as if burning. Florida, tampa, norml |
Marijuana grow house fire deemed arson 07/06/2015 |
"It's a very nondescript house, but inside, the only purpose for this house is to grow marijuana," said Lt. John Preyer. Florida, tampa, fire, grow sites |
UF asks: Does medical marijuana work? 04/22/2015 |
UF, Florida, Charlotte's Web, Epidiolex |
Autopsy: Ulele server accidentally drowned in Mango Lake 04/04/2015 |
The autopsy showed Foster had a .098 milligrams-per-liter level of THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, the intoxicating ingredient of marijuana. Pearson said that is a significant level.
“That indicates very recent use,” she said. “I would say she used marijuana within a half-hour or an hour before she died.”
Death, car crashes 2, alcohol, Florida, tampa |
Deputies: Marijuana-laced brownies hospitalize 4 Spruce Creek High students 03/17/2015 |
edibles, emergency room, Florida |
Superior Man Shot in the Head in Florida Over Stolen Marijuana 02/18/2015 |
crime, Florida |
Pot, alcohol found at scene of fatal teen wreck 02/15/2015 |
#no2pot Teens, Fatalities, car crashes, Florida, impaired, alcohol |
Future of medical pot hazy in Florida 02/10/2015 |
Legislation, Florida |
Florida Sheriffs just say no (again) to medical marijuana 02/02/2015 |
Sheriff, Florida, no |
2014 Florida Traffic Crash Report 01/01/2015 |
Florida, car crashes |
Amendment 2- Florida 01/01/2015 |
Amendment 2, Florida |
Survey: Local teens smoking pot increased 12/09/2014 |
Florida, Teens, youth |
Sheriff Don Eslinger: Amendment 2 puts families and communities in danger 09/26/2014 |
amendment, youth, Florida |
Amendment 2 is backdoor to legalize pot 07/28/2014 |
amendment, Florida |
Gaetz hopes medical marijuana law will cool public's ardor for legal pot 05/07/2014 |
Legalization for treatment to include adults with cancers, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and MLS.
Florida no longer needs Amendment 2. Florida |
Explosion at marijuana grow house in Boca Raton prompts evacuation 05/06/2014 |
Deputies said the couple appeared to be extracting oil from marijuana.
This is the process Charlotte's Web marijuana will undergo to extract the oil.
grow sites, explosion, Florida |
Florida Senate Approves Medical Marijuana Bill 05/02/2014 |
A strain of low-THC marijuana would be legal in Florida for medical use under a bill passed by the Legislature.
THERE IS NOT NEED FOR AMENDMENT 2!
Florida, Medical |
Sheriffs take lead against legalizing medical pot 04/24/2014 |
Don't Let Florida Go To Pot Florida, Sheriff |
Supporters Mobilize For Florida Medical Marijuana Initiative 04/19/2014 |
Basically what this amendment is doing is legalizing pot. Really it's a facade to say it's medical marijuana. That's not the end game of this movement," he said. "Marijuana use is harmful, addictive and is a gateway drug." Florida |
Does this sound like valid medicine? |
Amendment 2, medicine, Florida |