PENSACOLA, Fla. – Thousands of medical marijuana patients are currently caught in an awkward situation. They have been recommended for treatment, but they can’t start receiving medication until they receive an ID card from the state, which has been delayed because of short staffing.
Lauren Drake’s parents, both in their 70s, have been recommended for medical marijuana. Getting the recommendation has been far easier than getting the medicine.
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“It took 50 days (for) an approval," Drake said. "They still haven’t received their cards.”
Christian Bax, the director of Medical Marijuana Use in Florida, told lawmakers the ID card delay was running up to 30 days late.
Others, like Drake, said the wait can be two or three months.
"You know, if you’re sick, it’s a long wait,” Jeff Sharkey, with the Medical Marijuana Business Association, said.
Drake's problem gets even more complicated.
“My mother doesn’t know what to go down and get from the one dispensary that we have in our location," she said. "My father is not capable of going. I don’t know how, at this point, to go and get the caregiver card so that I can go.”
Drake said she can’t get a caregiver card because the state has yet to issue rules for getting them. She said the state isn’t focusing on patients.
“Why couldn’t my parents walk out and immediately go to the local dispensary and get medicine? I don’t understand what the holdup was," Drake said.
The delay is shortening the time between patients visits to their doctor, increasing their costs.
When patients get a recommendation for medical marijuana, it’s good for nine months. The problem is that the clock starts ticking the day that recommendation is made, not when the card is issued.
The department is in the process of hiring a private vendor to issue ID cards, but the wait could get worse before it gets better.
Officials with the Department of Health said Monday afternoon it has 44,164 patients and 1,066 doctors. It has issued 21,873 cards to date.
Department officials also said their email can serve as a temporary card, but one Ft. Myers patient said his dispensary would not accept his email.