Today on “First Coast Connect,” we discussed the opening of Jacksonville’s first medical cannabis dispensary with Trulieve spokeswoman Victoria Walker (01:09). Terrell Hogan attorneys Matt Sowell and Fadi Chakour (23:47) joined us to discuss Medical Malpractice Awareness Month. IKEA spokesman Joseph Roth (35:04) told us how the store opening in Jacksonville this year will use environmentally friendly building techniques, including the installation of solar panels. Finally, recently retired Jacksonville Public Library Director Barbara Gubbin (41:30) talked about her career and future plans.
Medical Cannabis
After Florida voters overwhelmingly approved an expansion of medical marijuana last year, cannabis is now available for purchase in Jacksonville. The Trulieve cannabis dispensary is at 6259 Beach Blvd. Trulieve delivers statewide and has seven other dispensaries, located in Clearwater, Edgewater, Miami, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Tampa and The Villages. Patients seeking cannabis for an array of medical problems will find an assortment of products including capsules, vaporizers and tinctures.
Medical Malpractice Awareness Month
The National Medical Malpractice Advocacy Association has declared July Medical Malpractice Awareness Month. The Journal of Patient Safety estimates between 210,000 to 440,000 people die each year from medical mistakes. That’s the equivalent of up to two commercial jumbo jets full of passengers dying from medical mistakes each day.
IKEA
When Jacksonville’s IKEA store opens later this year near Butler Blvd and I-295 it will boast the fifth solar array at an IKEA store in Florida. The company has a goal of being energy independent by the year 2020. IKEA has installed more than 700,000 solar panels on buildings across the world and owns about 300 wind turbines, including 104 in the U.S.
Barbara Gubbin
She first began her love affair with libraries when working as a volunteer teacher at an all-girls Catholic School in Ghana. That set Gubbin on a course that would take her from library school in London to the library system in San Antonio, Texas. She then became director of Houston’s library system before coming to head Jacksonville’s. Gubbin, who retired at the end of June, talked about her future plans.
Kevin Meerschaert can be reached at kmeerschaert@wjct.org, 904-358-6334 or on Twitter at @KMeerschaertJax.
