The scent of terpenes is strong inside CHT Medical, Alachua County’s first operating medical marijuana manufacturer and one of seven statewide.
Terpenes is a cannabis oil, and its scent is most pungent in CHT’s Alachua-based greenhouse, where rows and rows of plants spend 12 hours in light, 12 hours in darkness, until the leaves look crystaled over, their oil ready for harvesting.
CHT Medical, part of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, has been open for a week and has made about a dozen deliveries to patients able to take medical marijuana after Amendment 2 passed in November.
More than 70 percent of Florida voters approved Amendment 2, which legalizes the use of medical marijuana to treat certain illnesses, including cancer and those that cause seizures and muscle spasms.
Robert Wallace, president of CHT Medical, is a cancer survivor, and his parents died of the disease.
"If we can help people go through chemo, or even help find a cure, it’ll be a really valuable contribution," he said.
CHT harvests cannabis oil and turns it into capsules with coconut oil, a glycerin mix to vaporize or a liquid to place under the tongue. Smoking marijuana is illegal in Florida, and Wallace isn’t thinking of a possible future where recreational marijuana is legal.
"We’re very focused on providing this as medicine," he said.
The greenhouse is kept clear of contaminants; visitors wear white booties, and Wallace dons black gloves when touching the plants. It’s different from the rest of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm, which has been growing nonmedicinal produce – particularly chestnuts – for 35 years.
CHT medical has new machines, standards, procedures and formulas to process medical marijuana instead of chestnuts.
"It’s been fascinating," Wallace said. "Most interesting thing I’ve ever worked on."
CHT Medical has about 20 employees, and so far it’s delivered doctors’ orders of medical marijuana to patients in North and Central Florida.
The Office of Compassionate Use, under the state health department, writes and implements rules related to Amendment 2, which became effective Jan. 3.
Medical marijuana dispensing in Florida began July 22, 2016.
Tuesday, state health officials released proposed rules that would apply current Florida rules and regulations to Amendment 2, including giving the state Board of Medicine authority to decide which patients qualify for medical marijuana instead of authorizing doctors to do so.
Five Alachua County doctors have completed the necessary training to order marijuana for patients for whom they have cared for at least 90 days: Lawrence Adu, Justin Davis, Matthew Ellis and Michael MacMillan, all of Gainesville, and Brent Stewart of Jonesville.
Wallace said CHT Medical is ready to grow as demand does, and it could open a dispensary in Gainesville in a month or two. He hopes to help researchers learn what combinations of cannabis chemicals cause what effects in the human body.
"We’re very excited to be able to participate," he said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker
Full Article: Farm Grows First Of Alachua County’s Medical Cannabis
Author: Deborah Strange
Contact: (352) 867-4010
Photo Credit: Rob C. Witzel
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