Dispensaries grow with marijuana industry in Northeast Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — As the marijuana industry continues to grow so does the amount of dispensaries in our area.

Wednesday was the grand opening for Med Men, a new dispensary in Jacksonville beach.

There are 170 doctors who are registered to prescribe some form of medical marijuana within nine of our surrounding counties.

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Dr. Justin Spooner was the first doctor in the state to recommend medical marijuana to a patient.

Spooner said he thinks it's good more dispensaries like Med Men are coming to the area.

"Traditionally some of these patients have had to take opiates long-term, marijuana has allowed many of these patients to come completely off of prescription medications and just use marijuana as needed for pain," Spooner said.

Doctor Spooner said most of the patients he recommends the medication to are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder or need help with pain management.

Also, the majority of those recommendations are for elderly patients.

"The majority are in their seventh or eighth decade of life. They usually have arthritis many of which have had several spinal surgeries, hip replacements, and various pain that we can improve but not completely alleviate," Spooner said.

Doctors recommend patients go to professional establishments like Med Men so they can get the medication they need, and they know exactly what's in it.

For people who choose to buy street marijuana, Dr. Spooner said it could cause serious damage from not knowing the full ingredients and that's not recommended.

"It's either got cocaine in it or sometimes formaldehyde, they'll dip illicit marijuana in it so that when people smoke it, it gives them more of a high," Spooner said.

All of which can have serious impacts on the brain.

"So the dispensaries offer a safer method of controlling what you're actually getting," Spooner said.

Cox Media Group