Rising anxiety and worsening chronic health conditions led to a surge in demand for cannabis that businesses have capitalized on. But thanks to state law, the industry is dominated by just 22 companies. The pandemic has triggered a medical marijuana boon in Florida. Over the past two years, the number of people with medical marijuana cards has more than doubled, hundreds more doctors have become licensed to qualify patients, new dispensaries have opened almost weekly and a wide variety of new products have become available. With anxiety levels rising and chronic health conditions deepening during the numerous COVID-19 waves, more Floridians are seeking cannabis as a medical treatment and the industry has found a way to get it to them. “We have a lot more people coming in and asking for medical marijuana, but I am also seeing an uptick in the severity of underlying problems,” said Dr. Paul Weisman, who operates ZC Concierge Cannabis Centers in South Florida. “People have a lot of disabling anxiety right now, a lot of severe sleep disturbance from their anxiety and a lot of chronic pain for conditions that weren’t treated during the pandemic.”

420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 05/09/2022 20:00:00

Open article: https://420intel.com/articles/2022/05/10/how-pandemic-became-bonanza-florida%E2%80%99s-medical-marijuana-industry