Health Care Issues

10th Annual Medicinal Marijuana Benefit

An Ounce of Prevention -- At Last

County jail officials finally decide to get serious about a highly contagious disease

Death and Profits

When Hugh Westbrook pioneered hospice care, his organization saw to the needs of the dying. Fifteen years later nothing has changed -- except the politics and the profit margins.

Carnival of Fraud

Step right up and be astounded by Miami's bizarre side show of Medicare and Medicaid scammers! After all, you're paying for it!

Smoke Weed Every Day

Nate Dogg would approve of this message.

The Sex Doll Diaries

Artist brings her silicone twin to town for one last romp.

Puff, Puff, or Perish

For some, ganja is nothing to giggle about.

It’s Medicinally Delicious

For some, ganja is nothing to giggle about.

Cavity Depravity

The rotten roots of a sweet HMO deal rip dental health from the mouths of babes

Smoke for Life

The sixth annual Medical Marijuana Benefit Concert raises funds for patients' rights

Healthy Puff

Celebrate the medicinal benefits of Mary Jane

Waiting to Inhale

To ban or not to ban, that could be the question on a ballot near you.

Best Politician Convicted In The Past Twelve Months

Alberto Gutman

Night & Day

December 10 - 16, 1998

Smoke Gets in Your Eats

December 10 - 16, 1998

Letters

December 10 - 16, 1998

Sparked By Sucess in Miami, Feds Widen Health Care Fraud Force

The string of headlines involving several local busts of fraudulent HIV/AIDS treatment facilities milking medicare for money was no coincidence. Two years ago the justice department begin specifically targeting medicare fraud in the city. After success in Miami and then Los Angeles, today Attorney G ... More >>

Floridians Sure Have Some Funny Ideas About Health Care Reform

via A R B O's flickr​According to a new Quinnipiac poll, 58% of Floridians support creating a government health insurance plan, while only 36% oppose it. So it should be good news for supporters of the so-called "public option" that voters in a notoriously moderate swing state seem to be ... More >>

Free Cheetos!

via A R B O's flickr​According to a new Quinnipiac poll, 58% of Floridians support creating a government health insurance plan, while only 36% oppose it. So it should be good news for supporters of the so-called "public option" that voters in a notoriously moderate swing state seem to be ... More >>

Democrat Maurice Ferre Doesn't Back Democrat Health Plan One Day After Democrat Loss

​Former Mayor of Miami Maurice Ferre, who somehow thinks he is running for US Senate even though he is trailing in the primary race for the party that is trailing in the general election race, has announced that he doesn't support the Democratic healthcare plan.  "It is a special-interest pla ... More >>

Health Care Reform Passes, No Thanks To Your South Florida Politicos

If you're half as cool as the staff here at Riptide, you were flipping between March Madness and C-SPAN last night like your life depended on it. Which to pick?photo by Sage Ross, via Wikimedia CommonsThe power of cardboard signs and megaphones was not enough to derail health reform.On CBS, Korie Lu ... More >>

RPOF Says Alex Sink is Basically Florida's Fidel Castro

​Fidel Castro took some time out of his busy schedule of not dying to pen a piece for a state newspaper that said President Obama and the Democrat's recent passage of health care reform is a "miracle." Well, the Republican Party of Florida took time out of their busy schedule of basically giv ... More >>

Fox News Wonders if Local Mom Battling Leukemia is "First 'Death Panel' Victim"

​In the News Roundup each morning we've been keeping an eye on the plight of Diana Smith, a local mother battling a rare form of leukemia. Smith was almost denied a life saving treatment when Social Security disability payments made to her son raised her income enough to where she no longer qualif ... More >>

Obama Critic Rick Scott to Run for Governor, and Boy, Does He Have an Interesting Past

​Richard L. Scott, a businessman who lives in Naples, has thrown his hat into the ring for the Republican's gubernatorial nomination against Attorney General Bill McCollum and state Sen. Paula Dockery. Don't know anything about him? Here's some fun facts:He hates President Obama's health care refo ... More >>

University of Miami to Charge Student Smokers

​Students who smoke at the University of Miami will soon have to pay a $50-per-semester fee if they get their health insurance through the school's health plan. Some believe it is the school's first step to making the Coral Gables campus smoke-free. The school's medical campus is already a cigaret ... More >>

Old People Hate the Tanning Tax

via BartBaKer's Youtube​Vanity Fair and 60 Minutes have come together to commission a wide ranging poll that includes questions on the ability of Sarah Palin to be President (most don't think she can) and whether or not people would still see a Mel Gibson movie (most would). Though perhaps ones of ... More >>

Marijuana-Food Pairings: 10 Questions With Denver Pot Critic William Breathes

From Amsterdam​After recently writing a goofy post about imaginary pot-food pairings, I received an email from the pseudonymous William Breathes, one of two medical marijuana critics for our sister paper Westword, in Denver, Colorado. He expressed gratitude for being mentioned in the post and disa ... More >>

Miami Beach's reefer revolution

SoBe is ground zero in the battle to decriminalize pot.

American Therapeutic Corp. Charged with Fleecing Medicare out of $200m By Using Dementia Patients

Bad doctors, bad. ​Miami has long been the country's capitol for Medicare fraud schemes, and today federal authorities arrested four people associated with American Therapeutic Corporation and charged the Miami-based company with fleecing $200 million from Medicare. The company is accused of preyi ... More >>

South Miami Supports Medical Marijuana

Michael McElroy​On Monday night, the South Miami city commission took a giant leap forward in the pro-marijuana debate. Commissioners voted 3-1 to push the Florida Legislature and the federal government to authorize the medicinal use of marijuana making South Miami the first city in the state to r ... More >>

Election Day Recap: A Real Life Montgomery Burns Poised to Lead Florida

Florida's new governor: Rick Scott​Watching last night's election results pour in, Banana Republican could only take solace that Dorrin Rolle is no longer a Miami-Dade County commissioner and that state legislators will no longer have the ability to draw their own districts. Other than that, the 2 ... More >>

Florida Judge Worried Obama Might Make Us All Buy Broccoli

via​A federal judge today began hearing arguments in outgoing Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against the Federal Government, which alleges that forcing citizens to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. The trial is expected to be an in-depth, mature and scholarly proceeding. ... More >>

Joints for the Sick

via​A federal judge today began hearing arguments in outgoing Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum's lawsuit against the Federal Government, which alleges that forcing citizens to buy health insurance is unconstitutional. The trial is expected to be an in-depth, mature and scholarly proceeding. ... More >>

FIU Completely Bans Smoking On Campus

​Students and faculty at Florida International University should expect increased incidents of their colleagues incessantly tapping pencils, drinking inhuman quantities of black coffee, and randomly exploding at them for no apparent reason before sending a text message latter saying, "Sorry about ... More >>

57 Percent of Floridians Support Legalizing Medical Marijuana

​With 14 states and the District of Colombia allowing the legal medical use of marijuana, acceptance of the issue is steadily growing in America. A new poll shows that 57 percent of Floridians support legalization of medical marijuana as buzz grows that the issue could be placed on the ballot as s ... More >>

Democratic Rep. Pushes for Amendment to Legalize Medical Marijuana in Florida

​With a recent poll showing 57 percent of Floridians favoring legalizing marijuana for medical purposes, state Rep. Jeff Clemens (D-Lake Worth) has introduced a resolution to put an amendment on the 2012 ballot that would do just that. Clemens claims that the move could bring in $5 to $12 million ... More >>

Prisoners Butt Out: Cigarettes Will Be Banned in Florida Prisons

The ban will also bring an end to many Lady Gaga-inspired prison fashion trends. ​Used to be that a couple cartons of cigarettes could buy you some protection in prison, but Florida inmates may want to start trafficking in boxes of Nicorette. That's because in six months time smoking will be compl ... More >>

Health Care Costs a Miami Family of Four $23,362 a Year, More Than Anywhere Else in America

​The average health care bill for a family of four living in the Miami area in 2011 will be $23,362. That's more than any other major metro area in America, and a 120.5 percent, or $3,969, more than the national average. Considering that national average for health care cost has more than doubled ... More >>

Jackson Memorial Apparently Only Hospital in the South That Cares About Gay People

​We wouldn't wish a trip to Jackson Memorial Hospital on our worst enemies. Yet according to a new report from the Human Rights Campaign, the public Jackson Health System is the only hospital in the entire southern United States cited this year for providing equal care to LGBT patients. That's a b ... More >>

Rick Scott Pays Just $360-a-year For His Taxpayer-Subsidized Health Insurance

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the average health plan costs an American family $13,770 in premiums a year. Governor Rick Scott pays just $360 to insure himself and his wife thanks to a state Government plan he's enrolled in. Yep. the average American pays 38.25 percent more for their he ... More >>

SoFla Clinics Suckered Out-of-State Medicare Patients With Mental & Drug Problems

US Attorney General Eric HolderSouth Florida can add another feather to its fraud cap: scummiest Medicare scammers in the U.S.​​SoFla has long been the anus epicenter of health care fraud (see Rick Scott and Columbia/HCA). So it's no surprise that when prosecutors announced charges today ag ... More >>

Obama's war on weed

In a strange about-face, the president tries to hack medical marijuana off at the knees.

Robert's Drug Store busted for illegal oxycodone at Government Center

In a strange about-face, the president tries to hack medical marijuana off at the knees.

Medical Marijuana Amendment Gets Sponsor in Florida State Senate

​The first steps towards the possibility of legalizing medical marijuana in Florida are underway. Last month State Rep. Jeff Session, a Democrat from Lake Worth, introduced a resolution that would allow Floridians to vote on the matter in 2012. Now, state Sen. Larcenia Bullard, a Miami Democra ... More >>

Orange Bowl Slammed By Anti-Smoking Groups For Camacho Cigars Sponsorship

​Cigars are as Miami as white guayabaras, cafecitos and questionable uses of teal and pink, but a national group is slamming the Orange Bowl this week for including the Calle Ocho favorites in the bowl week festivities.The American Cancer Society has sent a letter to NCAA and Orange Bowl offi ... More >>

Medical Marijuana Bills Introduced In Florida Senate and House

​Miami-area State Sen. Larcenia Bullard has fired up a big ol' blunt of legislative reform this morning, as her proposal to give Florida voters a chance to legalize medical marijuana was introduced in the Senate. Bullard's bill joins a similar proposal by Lake Worth Rep. Jeff Clemens in the House ... More >>

Medical Marijuana's Unlikely New Florida Savior Is 64-Year-Old Larcenia Bullard

via Florida SenateThe new face of Florida pot reform.​If you'd told Larcenia Bullard 35-years ago - back when she was teaching school kids for a living -- that she'd one day use her lofty platform as a Florida state Senator to advocate for marijuana reform, she would have banished you to the princ ... More >>

Medical marijuana's unlikely Florida hero is 64-year-old Larcenia Bullard

via Florida SenateThe new face of Florida pot reform.​If you'd told Larcenia Bullard 35-years ago - back when she was teaching school kids for a living -- that she'd one day use her lofty platform as a Florida state Senator to advocate for marijuana reform, she would have banished you to the princ ... More >>

"Obamacare" Has Already Saved Floridians $142 Million

​Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi may be fighting to repeal President Obama's healthcare reform laws in court, but the new laws have already saved Floridians close to $142 million, and most of the laws haven't even gone into effect yet. The savings come from Medicare recipients who now pay l ... More >>

Pot smuggler schools seniors on medical marijuana

​Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi may be fighting to repeal President Obama's healthcare reform laws in court, but the new laws have already saved Floridians close to $142 million, and most of the laws haven't even gone into effect yet. The savings come from Medicare recipients who now pay l ... More >>