10/13/22 Update
Effective 8/29/22 the OMMU has imposed dosage limits on all routes of administration. For current information on understanding your recommendation, please see this video.
This post was originally published on 08/24/2017 and updated on 04/02/21.
“What do I do when I get to the dispensary?”
It’s one of the most frequent questions we hear from Florida Medical Cannabis patients.
Understanding your Medical Cannabis recommendation will help you to have a smooth and productive dispensary visit. Planning ahead is very helpful, especially for those new to cannabis. Unlike conventional medicine, Medical Cannabis patients have much more control and flexibility when choosing and dosing their medicine. Understanding your recommendation, what you are able to purchase, and how much can help alleviate some of the overwhelm of learning about the different medicinal products and help you to choose medicines that will be the most effective for your needs.
Florida's Office of Medical Marijuana Use Registry
After seeing a physician and receiving your Florida Medical Marijuana recommendation, a certification and set of recommendations, also called orders, will be entered into the State’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use Registry (MMUR). The recommendation will specify the types of Medical Marijuana you are able to purchase, your recommended daily dose, and the number of days of your order will be active. While your doctor may make suggestions, especially if you are new to cannabis, strains and specific product choices are yours to make at the dispensary and will not be listed within the MMUR. Prior to shopping, consulting online resources, like Leafly or Weedmaps, to find out information about products, read patient reviews, and locate dispensaries can be helpful.
The registry currently allows physicians to enter three types of orders for medical cannabis products - smokable flower, low THC (high CBD), and medical cannabis (high THC). In addition to these three types of medical cannabis, physicians may order up to 6 delivery methods for each of the low THC and Medical Cannabis routes. These routes include inhalation, sublingual, oral, topical, suppository, and edible methods. For more information on the differences between delivery methods and the products available, please see this link.
MMUR Patient Recommendation/Order Screen
Smoking Marijuana
Can include high CBD, ratio, and high THC varieties
Does not have separate types for CBD vs THC
Max purchasing limit set at 2.5oz every 35 days per State Law
Low-THC Cannabis
Only includes high CBD/low THC options
Can include multiple delivery methods, as specified by the physician
Medical Marijuana
Includes both high THC and high THC/high CBD options
If a product has over the threshold amount of THC, even if it’s higher in CBD, it is categorized as Medical Marijuana
Can include multiple delivery methods, as specified by the physician
Accessing Your Florida Medical Cannabis Order
The Medical Marijuana Use Registry can be glitchy and physicians are human and can make mistakes. It’s always best to check your orders and recommendation prior to visiting the dispensary to know what is available to you to purchase and make sure everything was entered correctly.
How to Access Your Medical Cannabis Orders:
Navigate to the MMUR & login (https://mmuregistry.flhealth.gov)
Click on the ‘Your Profile’ tab and scroll down.
Locate your active orders. You may have to click through the page tabs to find the current order. They are not always in chronological order.
Once you locate your active orders, click the Expand button to see details. Here you can see additional information, including your recommended dosage, your purchase history, and the total milligrams available.
Example Smoking and Medical Marijuana Orders
How Much Medication Can I Purchase?
Unlike other Medical Marijuana programs, Florida requires that doctors issue a recommended dosage amount. This dosage amount isn’t truly a recommended dose to take each day, but serves as a cap to how much medication of each type and route that you can purchase. In the MMUR, your doctor will recommend a specific amount of milligrams per day for a specified amount of days for each type and route of cannabis. This is multiplied to calculate the maximum amount you can purchase.
At the dispensary, you will be able to purchase any combination of products and strains as long as you stay within your order type, delivery method, and milligram limit.
It’s important to remember that the numbers listed are meant to be the MAX dosage amount, not the starting. With all cannabis, start low and go slow. Very few patients will need max dosing.
Each product available in the dispensaries will specify how many milligrams of CBD and/or THC it contains. As you purchase the milligrams will be deducted, like a bank account, from your total available like a bank. Any remaining milligrams expire on the date listed. Any scheduled orders will begin automatically. If all your orders are expired or will be expiring soon you’ll need to see your physician for a recertification exam. You will not verify as legal or be able to purchase medication without valid and open orders and an active card.
How many milligrams do I have left?
If you click on EXPAND next to each of your active orders for Low THC and Medical Cannabis, the screen will open to show a dispensed medication history. Underneath the dispensed medication information is the number of milligrams remaining on your order. Remember milligrams expire on the date indicated and do not roll over to your new order. At the time of this article, the State has not set the maximum dosage per route, so the amount can be increased as necessary by your physician.
Example Milligrams Remaining Inhalation Medical Marijuana
How much smokable cannabis do I have left?
Click on the EXPAND menu for your active smoking order. You will see how many ounces you have purchased and what is remaining. While the amount authorized is determined by the physician, the max amount that can be recommended is 2.5oz every 35 days. if you exhaust your limit within any 35 day period it cannot be reset. You must wait until your next 35 day period to purchase. Like other routes, any remaining alotment is forfeited and does not roll over to the next period.
Example Amount Remaining Smokable Marijuana
Am I Able to Buy Edibles?
As of August 2020, patients are able to buy edibles so long as they have the “edible” dispensing route on their recommendation. Some edible type products are also sold under the “oral” and “sublingual” routes. Edibles are popular among patients young and old. Using caution when dosing and paying attention to potency and milligram per dose are important things to remember when purchasing an edible product. In Florida, edibles range from 5-10mg per dose, and typically come with 10-20 doses total. Edibles are a convenient option, making them one of the more costly methods - we pay the dispensaries to make them for us. Fortunately, if patients are interested in making their own edibles, they can use whole flower or distillate.
Example Edibles Recommendation
Can I Buy Whole Flower? Can I Smoke?
As of March 2019, patients who have discussed smokable flower with their physician and received the proper recommendation can purchase whole flower and smoking related accessories. Like other forms of medical cannabis, patients are allowed to possess and smoke medical marijuana purchased from licensed MMTC’s only. The law specifies that flower is to be used for smoking and largely ignores that it can be vaped or made into edibles, topicals, etc. This is a function of a legislature that does not understand the program and medicine they are legislating, as cannabis flower is extremely versatile. The law also states that whole flower MUST be kept in its original packaging, as it’s sold in, both when traveling and at home. This is not an enforceable offense, however, as Law Enforcement Officers can only remind you to keep it in its original packaging. They are not able to fine or ticket you for having it outside of that packaging as penalties were never written into the law.
Can I Grow My Own Medical Cannabis?
Unfortunately not. Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, or MMTC’s, are the only entities allowed to cultivate cannabis plants in the state. MMTC’s pay exorbitant prices for licenses and some, in turn, continue to lobby against patient home grow initiatives - ensuring themselves as a necessity, rather than merely an option. Patient advocates have long been supporters of home grow, as it could offset the need for all patients to shop at, and in turn overwhelm a limited, vertically integrated medical market. Some of the most popular MMTC’s or dispensaries, continue to lobby against patient access, all the while asking for patients' help when there’s limiting legislation brought against MMTC’s, such as THC caps that have been brought up by our State legislatures time and time again.
We hope this post was helpful in helping you to better understand your Florida Medical Cannabis recommendation and how things work within the State Registry. For additional registry resources, check out these instructional guides.
WRITTEN BY: Kristina Risola, MA, CRC, NBC-HWC and Josh Kerrigan, Patient Educator
