Lyons: Medical cannabis doctors will have to compete

By Tom Lyons

It was no pipe dream. As predicted, would-be medical marijuana patients have been flocking to a doctor in Venice who has been inviting them in for exams to get state approval.

"It's been fantastic," says Dr. Barry Gordon of the Compassionate Cannabis Care Clinic of Venice.

With some patients, even a glance should erase any doubt that the medical need is real. There are people with multiple sclerosis and other dramatically debilitating diseases and severe injuries who arrive in specialized wheelchairs.

Their experience with cannabis, or lack of it, varies hugely. Gordon told me of a woman in her 80s who said she had never even seen marijuana, and for decades had never thought she would ever use it. Gordon soothed her concerns and reassure that it was a valid medication.

But there also are Vietnam vets who have long dealt with war injuries and trauma, some of whom have used marijuana every day since they got off the plane that returned them to the United States, Gordon told me.

They don't really need a doctor's help to get cannabis, and they certainly don't need reassurance about its value. But they are at his clinic for a good reason.

"They want to be legal," Gordon said.

One patient was a law officer, retired, with painful injuries he suffered while on duty. More recently, on a trip to Colorado, the man told Gordon, he waited until the last day but decided to try marijuana for the first time ever. It is legal there even for recreational use now.

He told Gordon that on the plane flight home he realized it was the first time in years he wasn't hurting. He wants that same relief here, legally.

Gordon says he is glad to be a part of that possibility, and has never felt better seeing patients.

In the first few weeks of operation, Gordon has seen 200 would-be medical marijuana patients, according to Patrick DeLuca, the office manager. Each patient is charged $250, DeLuca says. That's the usual rate statewide, it seems, though this all pretty new.

Thanks to a voter-approved constitutional amendment, Florida now must allow marijuana use and sales for treatment of a long list of medical problems. The state is months away from hammering out all the regulations for determining exactly who is eligible, and so far there is a 90-day waiting period in place for doctor-approved patients.

For those who want to use marijuana lawfully, and soon, getting the clearance from a doctor who has passed a state class on medical cannabis is the first step. But Gordon is not the only local option. There is about to be more local competition and, it seems, something of a price war.

Paul Sloan, who owns a local pain treatment clinic authorized to prescribe opioids, has long been touting marjiuana as a far safer treatment for many and says it should have been legalized years ago.

Sloan's pain clinic no longer prescribes opioids for any new patients, he says. But doctors he employs will be doing the marijuana approval exams at several local locations, he just announced.

"I set my price at $125 compared to $250 or more everywhere else," Sloan said.

Insurance doesn't pay for those exams, so price matters a lot to many patients, he said. And there is no special medical equipment involved, no huge overhead. No elaborate additional training.

"Confirming and verifying other doctors' diagnosis via records is not rocket science," Sloan said, "and $250 is a rip-off."

Let the price war begin!