Florida now has nearly 95,000 medical marijuana patients but only 89 doctors are certifying the drug for them.
According to a new draft state report on medical marijuana, the state had 168,810 patient “certifications” for medical marijuana between October 1st and March 31st and over half of them came from 89 doctors.
“To me, I look at this data and say this is just another form of a pill mill,” said Sarvam TerKonda, a Jacksonville medical doctor who reviewed the six-month draft report.
“It feels like the 800-pound gorilla in the room,” said board member Michelle Mendez, who is an osteopathic physician from Jacksonville and member of the panel.
“What is the Legislature’s expectations of the recommendations that we make?” she asked. She also asked, “What are they expecting to hear from us?”
The draft report contains nearly 500 pages of data and charts, however it does not track all the counties where physicians are practicing.
