Medical Marijuana licenses in the state of Florida can no longer be renewed by patients over the phone.
The decision came from Ron DeSantis in the form of Executive Order 21-94. The order ended emergency orders 20-002 and 20-011, which were enacted to temporarily allow qualified physicians to use telemedicine in cases of re-certifying patients with existing certifications.
Essentially, the order permitted over-the-phone renewal of medical marijuana licenses to maintain social distancing in consideration of the pandemic.
Now, the state says it is managing the pandemic better than it did in March 2020 and the order, along with the state of emergency, is no longer needed.
“The state should prepare to resume non-emergency operations,” reads the order. The order cites a “manageable trend in COVID-19 cases” for ending the emergency, citing 8.5 million vaccinated individuals and a “4.7% unemployment rate well under the national average.”
Although the city of Ocala currently has five medical marijuana dispensaries within city limits, there are a collection of doctors that offer medical marijuana certification services. Those facilities are not permitted to sell marijuana and are limited to prescribing the plant for physical and psychological ailments, including PTSD and chronic pain.
Ocala has seen a boom in medical marijuana dispensaries in the past few years, with One Plant, Trulieve, GrowHealthy and Surterra all opening locations within city limits.
According to state records, over 500,000 Florida residents are currently registered with the Florida Medical Marijuana registry. For more information on registering, visit the Medical Marijuana Use Registry.