Tallahassee, Fla.— In light of recent news regarding the disbarment of a lawyer involved in medical marijuana scams, the Florida Department of Health is reminding Florida residents to use caution to avoid falling victim to medical marijuana scams. In this case, individuals were offering “official legal certifications” for marijuana use to patients as well as “grow signs” allegedly permitting patients to grow their own marijuana.

Below are tips to help protect you from scams involving medical marijuana.

• Only approved medical marijuana treatment centers are authorized in Florida to dispense medical marijuana to qualified patients and legal representatives. Patients are not allowed to grow marijuana in Florida.
• Only qualified physicians are permitted to certify patients for medical marijuana us. Qualified physicians can be searched here
• The Office of Medical Marijuana Use, through its contracted vendor Veritec, is the only entity issuing legal identification cards for medical marijuana in Florida. No other entity is authorized to process applications. Do not provide personal health or credit card information to any entity advertising the ability to obtain medical marijuana cards.

To file a complaint against a licensed health care professional, visit the Florida Health Care Complaint Portal here.

To report scams to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services call 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352).

To report fraud to the Attorney General’s office call 1-866-966-7226.

About the Florida Department of Health

The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.