DeSantis Faces Backlash Over Email Blast To 2M People Including Medical Marijuana Patients Who Cite Privacy Concerns, Misuse Of Information

Florida's Department of Health recently emailed nearly 700,000 medical marijuana patients, praising Republican Governor Ron DeSantis for his achievements, despite his opposition to recreational marijuana use and legalization.

The email highlighted initiatives such as a cancer research program and investments in other health issues but did not mention medical marijuana.

Patients And Advocates Outraged

Medical marijuana patients argue that Florida's broad public records laws could now allow someone to figure out who is using medical cannabis and why, as they make up about 35% of the letter's recipients. The exposure could result in unwanted marketing, political messages or even employment discrimination.

"This was a ‘look how great the governor is and how much he's done for us at the Department of Health,'" said Jodi James, president of the nonprofit Florida Cannabis Action Network. "My information should not be part of their general email blast list by any stretch of the imagination."

State Rep. Kelly Skidmore, the ranking Democrat on the House Health Policy Committee said the DeSantis administration violated people's privacy to promote the governor's political agenda.

"That is revolting. That is really such a misuse of power and information," she said "I guarantee you nobody checked the box that said, ‘Yes, it's OK to send me information on Gov. DeSantis' agenda.'"

Blame The Messenger

The Department of Health defended the email, stating it was sent to everyone in its databases – over two million members of the public, healthcare professionals, licensees and media.

Department spokeswoman, Weesam Khoury, blamed the messenger: The Associated Press. "It is unfortunate that The Associated Press has decided to write a story about the inconvenience of an email, rather than covering the key investments that will save countless lives," she said.

State Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried, the former agriculture commissioner, called the action irresponsible: "I would have been scorched alive if I had done anything with that database to either release their information to another part of my agency or to have used that database for pushing the rest of the news or activities from the Department of Agriculture."

Personal injury lawyer John Morgan, who led the state's 2016 medical marijuana effort, questioned whether the email violated federal laws on the release of medical information. He also pointed out the potential for political misuse of the email list, especially in the context of promoting the upcoming November ballot measure to legalize cannabis.

"That would be the greatest list they could ever have for this election," Morgan said.

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