After the brief euphoria of the passing of the Compassionate Care Act in Florida, some card holders were left with a hefty drain on their wallets. Was this truly a “compassionate” deal or yet another rip off? Today most card holding Floridians appreciate the ability to have highly refined THC products in their lives but is the cost really worth it? By our estimate, the average yearly cost for the law abiding Floridian to be able to enjoy the benefits of cannabis is over $2,600 a year! Once we start to actually review the yearly costs of the use of medicinal marijuana you may start to notice some sobering details. In the event that this calculation may seem high to you, let’s grind up the numbers.
For starters, consider the fact that a card holder must submit a yearly renewal to their license at the cost of $75 plus additional fees if paying any other way than cash. All of this is just the cost of registration in the state of Florida to have one’s name on the registry to obtain a medical marijuana card. Then the fun part of the process begins…The card holding Compassionate Care recipient must then seek a Florida licensed practitioner in order to submit the necessary medical documentation. Fortunately, the card holder has many choices which can be easily found online. Our brief research shows annual costs for such services on a yearly basis range from $200 to $300.
Mind you, all of the costs so far are just to be able to provided the card holder with the ability to purchase refined cannabis products such tinctures, extracts, and soon marijuana flower. Now the fun continues with the costs of the actual products themselves. Picture this, if the patient decides to consume marijuana products via inhalation they must purchase a specialized vape pen which runs at about $25. The cartridges for said pen range in size but if one was to buy the 600cc cartridge and consumed on average two cartridges a month, the cost could range around $200. Once you start adding up the numbers, Florida’s approach to making medicinal marijuana doesn’t seem so compassionate after all for most. Although the passing of the Compassionate Care Act was meant to be a merciful and sympathetic deed to assist those in need of medicinal marijuana, is $2,600 a year really affordable for most patients?
That’s just the monetary cost, there is also the cost of time and effort of the card holder. Once the card holder has been registered they still need to work with one of the few available purveyors of medical grade cannabis products in the state. Although most of the companies do accommodate delivery, these appointments can take upwards of a few days to take place so patients need to plan accordingly. Unfortunately in some cases, the products can be defective and take just as long to replace which may leave many in a bind if they receive a bad batch. However, this should be mitigated as companies continue to grow and refine their products.
