A bill that would allocate about $2.5 million for UF to research medical marijuana advanced in the Florida House of Representatives last week.
The bill states that money from the General Revenue Fund will be used to fund UF’s research on the safety and efficiency of medical marijuana. The bill, which passed through the Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, moved into the Appropriations Committee on Friday.
If passed in the committee, it will go to a full House vote for final approval. If it passes through the House, the bill states the onetime sum will go into effect July 1.
House member Dane Eagle, a republican who represents District 77, sponsored the bill, which was first submitted Feb. 7.
UF spokesperson Janine Sikes wrote in an email the money would fund UF’s proposed Marijuana and Safety Outcomes Surveillance System, a program which would monitor the safety and effectiveness of medical marijuana on 25,000 enrolled patients throughout the state.
Florida’s Amendment 2, a constitutional amendment that allows stronger marijuana to be used for a wider list of ailments, went into effect Jan. 3. Of the six medical marijuana dispensaries licensed in Florida, two are in Alachua County, according to the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use.
The UF program would monitor treatments that haven’t been approved by the FDA, Sikes said. UF would create a secure Data Warehouse to track patient data as part of the program.
She said the $2.5 million would be for costs such as faculty and staff salaries and data processing. “Evidence is lacking to evaluate risk/benefit of medical marijuana,” she said.
“It is pivotal that the state establishes a system to monitor emerging safety concerns, especially for use in children.”
She said the proposed bill is related to the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014, which requires physicians to submit a quarterly patient treatment plan to the UF’s College of Pharmacy for research on the safety and effectiveness of low-THC cannabis on patients. The details of the bill state that it would provide funding to implement research provisions in the 2014 act.
Alicia Ciliezar, a UF nursing senior, said she supports the use and research of medical marijuana. The drug helps improve pain levels for patients with issues such as neurologic disorders, digestive disorders and anxiety.
“I’m very eager to see the aims of the study, the objectives and the outcomes,” the 23-year-old said. “I’m sure it will be fascinating and shape our perception on the substance.”
Contact Paige Fry at pfry@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter at @paigexfry
