Edible marijuana now available in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Four years after Florida voters approved the legalization of medical marijuana, and a year after the Legislature permitted patients to smoke it, edible marijuana products are now available in the Sunshine State.

At 4:02 p.m. EDT Wednesday, Arnold Lawson bought blue raspberry flavored gelatin edibles at a Truelieve dispensary in Tallahassee, the Tallahassee Democrat reported. Lawson, 54, bought the TruGels gummy candies to treat a degenerative disc disease, the newspaper reported.

Lawson is one of 400,000 patients in Florida on the state’s Medical Marijuana Registry, which allows patients to use cannabis to treat a variety of ailments.

“You’re always looking for better relief,” Lawson said. “I’m thinking this will be nice and mellow on my stomach and just a new route to help with the problems we all live with.”

According to a news release, Truelieve began working on submissions to the state for approvals shortly after the Florida Department of Health announced its final guidelines on Aug. 27.

The rules were basic for a medical marijuana state, according to the Miami Herald. The edibles cannot have primary or bright colors, which might attract children; it must not resemble any commerically available candy; and it must be packaged in an appropriate fashion, the newspaper reported.

Once approved by the Florida Department of Health, state dispensaries will be allowed to offer five different products made with marijuana, the Democrat reported.

“This is a monumental day, not just for Trulieve, but for our Truliever community,” Kim Rivers, CEO of Truelieve, said in a statement. “There has been strong demand for medication in this format for over three years now, as well as confusion from patients that visit our stores across the state looking for edibles and an administration method that best suits them and their lifestyle. We have patients across all demographics with an average age in the early 50s; many of these patients have requested edibles as they have less stigma associated with them, are often easier to ingest, and is a medication option that tastes good, too.

“Today we are able to offer edibles as yet another alternative for Florida’s medical cannabis patients, and we look forward to the excitement to come as we stock our stores, the statement said.

Medical marijuana businesses estimate edibles could grab up to 20% of the overall market share, according to the News Service of Florida.

“Every single patient is different -- as far as how their body reacts to this medicine,” Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried told the News Service of Florida. “Some patients can’t swallow pills. ... So this is another alternative to so many patients who may need their medicine but need it in alternative forms.”

Trulieve received approval on other TruGel and TruNanoGel fruit flavors, along with TruChocolate in milk and dark chocolate flavors, the company said in its news release.

Cox Media Group