The desperate plea from parents of sick kids in a House committee this month got the attention of legislative leaders. The parents want Florida lawmakers to legalize a non-intoxicating form of marijuana that is now only available in Colorado. The drug may have a surprising ally.Senate President Don Gaetz has spent much of his life promoting hospice, where caregivers treat the symptoms of terminally ill patients.
Gaetz recalls his own uphill battle to bring hospice services to Florida in the late 1970’s.
Florida became the first state to make hospice a recognized form of care - despite opposition from medical and hospital associations.
"Then, when hospices began to operate and use large doses of oral morphine to address chronic pain, there were many in the traditional healthcare community who threw their hands up and said, 'well that’s outrageous, you can’t do that, that’s terrible.' And now, palliative care is an accepted form of treatment,” Gaetz said.
Now, Gaetz says he is considering legislation that would bring a strain of marijuana to Florida known as Charlotte’s Web. The strain was created for children with chronic seizures, and it doesn’t get the user high.
This is no small concession for Gaetz. He’s fighting a citizen-led effort that would let doctors prescribe marijuana to patients with debilitating illnesses.
But Charlotte’s Web is different. Gaetz says his wife was greatly moved by the parents who testified, and his son, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Shalimar, is pushing hard to legalize the marijuana strain.