Here are the conditions that are considered to qualify a patient to be recommended for medical marijuana in Florida:
- Cancer
- Epilepsy/Seizures
- Glaucoma
- HIV/AIDS
- PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)
- ALS (“Lou Gehrig’s Disease”)
- Crohn’s Disease (Regional Ileitis)
- Parkinson’s Disease
- MS (Multiple Sclerosis)
- Chronic Pain (from cancer or other causes, e.g. degenerative disc disease)
- Neuralgia (nerve pain)
- Persistent muscle spasms or spasticity
- Other debilitating conditions (e.g., severe anxiety, depression, OCD, bipolar disorder and more) for which a physician believes that the benefits of medical marijuana use would likely outweigh the potential risks for a patient. Note that patients who are less than 18 years of age need to have two doctors’ opinions that medical marijuana is appropriate for them (and one of those two must be a doctor who is certified to recommend patients for medical marijuana).
Once a patient is entered into the database on their first visit with me, this will automatically cause two emails to be sent to the patient from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use. The first email will contain a link to your user name. The second email will contain a link to your password, and will contain your unique patient number in the system. Both of these emails will contain instructions on the steps that need to be followed to apply for your Florida Medical Marijuana card. Once you receive your follow-up email from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use indicating that your application has been approved (you don’t have to wait for the card to arrive in the mail), you would then call Dr. Amadi’s office to schedule a second visit, in which she does your physical exam, you sign the waiver for informed consent about medical marijuana and you discuss with Dr. Amadi which types of products might be the best for you and she enters your first medical marijuana orders in the Registry.
Marijuana orders in the registry are limited to a MAXIMUM number of 70 DAY’S SUPPLY per order. There can be a maximum of 3 orders for up to 70 days each included in each 210 day “certification period”. After a maximum of 210 days from the first certification, the certifying physician is then REQUIRED BY LAW to RECERTIFY that the patient still has conditions that are considered appropriate for medical marijuana, EVEN IF NOTHING ABOUT THEIR QUALIFYING CONDITION HAS CHANGED FROM THE INITIAL CERTIFICATION. This entails a follow-up appointment in which the doctor must document another physical exam for the chart and will renew and/or change their orders for medical marijuana, in case adjustments need to be made . So that means that AT MINIMUM, a patient who is receiving medical marijuana must be seen IN PERSON at least every 30 weeks or 7.5 months. During certification periods, if a patient needs new orders added or changed, they can call the office to request such. There is a $25 charge for putting in new or changed orders to the Registry by phone call.