Florida Senate - 2022 SB 7002 By the Committee on Health Policy 588-01045-22 20227002__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to a review under the Open Government 3 Sunset Review Act; amending s. 381.987, F.S., which 4 provides an exemption from public records requirements 5 for personal identifying information relating to 6 medical marijuana held by the Department of Health; 7 removing the scheduled repeal of the exemption; 8 providing an effective date. 9 10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 11 12 Section 1. Section 381.987, Florida Statutes, is amended to 13 read: 14 381.987 Public records exemption for personal identifying 15 information relating to medical marijuana held by the 16 department.— 17 (1) The following information is confidential and exempt 18 from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State 19 Constitution: 20 (a) A patient’s or caregiver’s personal identifying 21 information held by the department in the medical marijuana use 22 registry established under s. 381.986, including, but not 23 limited to, the patient’s or caregiver’s name, address, date of 24 birth, photograph, and telephone number. 25 (b) All personal identifying information collected for the 26 purpose of issuing a patient’s or caregiver’s medical marijuana 27 use registry identification card described in s. 381.986. 28 (c) All personal identifying information pertaining to the 29 physician certification for marijuana and the dispensing thereof 30 held by the department, including, but not limited to, 31 information related to the patient’s diagnosis, exception 32 requests to the daily dose amount limit, and the qualified 33 patient’s experience related to the medical use of marijuana. 34 (d) A qualified physician’s Drug Enforcement Administration 35 number, residential address, and government-issued 36 identification card. 37 (2) The department shall allow access to the confidential 38 and exempt information in the medical marijuana use registry to: 39 (a) A law enforcement agency that is investigating a 40 violation of law regarding marijuana in which the subject of the 41 investigation claims an exception established under s. 381.986, 42 except for information related to the patient’s diagnosis. 43 (b) A medical marijuana treatment center approved by the 44 department pursuant to s. 381.986 which is attempting to verify 45 the authenticity of a physician certification for marijuana, 46 including whether the certification had been previously filled 47 and whether the certification was issued for the person 48 attempting to have it filled, except for information related to 49 the patient’s diagnosis. 50 (c) A physician who has issued a certification for 51 marijuana for the purpose of monitoring the patient’s use of 52 such marijuana or for the purpose of determining, before issuing 53 a certification for marijuana, whether another physician has 54 issued a certification for the patient’s use of marijuana. The 55 physician may access the confidential and exempt information 56 only for the patient for whom he or she has issued a 57 certification or is determining whether to issue a certification 58 for the use of marijuana pursuant to s. 381.986. 59 (d) A practitioner licensed to prescribe prescription 60 medications to ensure proper care of a patient before 61 prescribing medication to that patient which may interact with 62 marijuana. 63 (e) An employee of the department for the purposes of 64 maintaining the registry and periodic reporting or disclosure of 65 information that has been redacted to exclude personal 66 identifying information. 67 (f) An employee of the department for the purposes of 68 reviewing physician registration and the issuance of physician 69 certifications to monitor practices that could facilitate 70 unlawful diversion or the misuse of marijuana or a marijuana 71 delivery device. 72 (g) The department’s relevant health care regulatory boards 73 responsible for the licensure, regulation, or discipline of a 74 physician if he or she is involved in a specific investigation 75 of a violation of s. 381.986. If a health care regulatory 76 board’s investigation reveals potential criminal activity, the 77 board may provide any relevant information to the appropriate 78 law enforcement agency. 79 (h) The Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes 80 Research established in s. 1004.4351(4). 81 (i) A person engaged in bona fide research if the person 82 agrees: 83 1. To submit a research plan to the department which 84 specifies the exact nature of the information requested and the 85 intended use of the information; 86 2. To maintain the confidentiality of the records or 87 information if personal identifying information is made 88 available to the researcher; 89 3. To destroy any confidential and exempt records or 90 information obtained after the research is concluded; and 91 4. Not to contact, directly or indirectly, for any purpose, 92 a patient or physician whose information is in the registry. 93 (3) The department shall allow access to the confidential 94 and exempt information pertaining to the physician certification 95 for marijuana and the dispensing thereof, whether in the 96 registry or otherwise held by the department, to: 97 (a) An employee of the department for the purpose of 98 approving or disapproving a request for an exception to the 99 daily dose amount limit for a qualified patient; and 100 (b) The Consortium for Medical Marijuana Clinical Outcomes 101 Research pursuant to s. 381.986 for the purpose of conducting 102 research regarding the medical use of marijuana. 103 (4) All information released by the department under 104 subsections (2) and (3) remains confidential and exempt, and a 105 person who receives access to such information must maintain the 106 confidential and exempt status of the information received. 107 (5) A person who willfully and knowingly violates this 108 section commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as 109 provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083. 110(6) This section is subject to the Open Government Sunset111Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15 and shall stand repealed112on October 2, 2022, unless reviewed and saved from repeal113through reenactment by the Legislature.114 Section 2. This act shall take effect October 1, 2022.