Florida’s medical marijuana industry has hit a milestone

Jacksonville, Fla. — Florida Department of Health’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use announced new rules that now allow the state’s medical marijuana industry to start selling edibles.

It was four years ago that Florida allowed medical marijuana and now edibles are coming soon to dispensaries.

The Florida Department of Health gave the green light this week for people who use and need the drug.

“This also offers a discrete way of medicating,” said Yesenia Garcia

Yesenia Garcia is the Southeast marketing director at Curaleaf, which has 30 dispensaries in Florida including one on 103rd street in Jacksonville.

“We’re excited I mean this is some rules that everyone in the program has been waiting for four years,” said Garcia

Medical marijuana first became legal in Florida in the form of oil in 2016.

Smokable marijuana was introduced last year and now edibles are on the list.

“Adding this will add revenue, sales, patients to the program,” Garcia explained

The state is very detailed about what’s allowed:

Baked goods like cookies, brownies, chocolates, lozenges, drink powders, and what the state call gelatins but they can’t look like gummy bears or resemble candy.

Garcia can’t say when edibles will be on store shelves here locally, but it could be in a matter of months.

“We’ll wait on the what kind but definitely we are 100% focused on innovation and the quality is very important to us,” Garcia said.

To qualify for medical marijuana, first you have to get a recommendation from a doctor.

After that, you submit an application to get a patient number and ID card.

Then the state will either respond with an approval or disapproval.

Cox Media Group