Florida dispensary says new flower product doesn’t violate smoking ban
Updated May 15, 2017 at 8:08 p.m. The following corrected information has been added to this article: Because of a reporting error by The Associated Press, a previous version of this story misstated the Department of Healths stance on the product, which was not approved by the department.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. A Florida medical marijuana dispensary says it is not violating state law by selling cannabis that could potentially be broken down and made into pot that can be smoked.
Trulieve began selling its first whole-flower cannabis product earlier this week that is meant for vaping. The buds in the vaporizer cup, however, could be also be used in joints, pipes or bongs.
Vaping is allowed under state law but smoking is prohibited. Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said the company has issued warnings to patients that the product should only be used for vaping.
Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambinieri said all products must be approved by the Office of Compassionate Use. However, they have not approved this particular product and are looking into it. Gambinieri added that dispensaries are held to the product descriptions made in applications.
All six of Floridas distributing organizations that are authorized to sell cannabis have vaping products. Trulieve is the first that is selling a whole-flower product. Other vaping products use cannabis that is ground up.
According to the Department of Health, 80 percent of cannabis sales are vaping.
Medical marijuana supporters have advocated for whole-flower use because of what is called the entourage effect, which means all the various compounds are working together instead of separately.
With two months remaining until rules for medical marijuana Amendment 2 are supposed to be enacted, whether or not smoking will be permitted remains one of many issues ...
