Miracle Leaf Saint Augustine, a franchise operation that helps people suffering from a number of conditions, recently opened its doors at 2487 U.S. 1 South in St. Augustine. Its focus is medical marijuana and CBD products that offer a natural alternative to opioids.
“Our mission is basically to get people off prescription drugs,” said Chief Development Officer Benjamin Padilla for Miami-based Miracle Leaf.
The company was founded in 2017, less than a year after 71% of Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment effectively legalizing medical marijuana in the Sunshine State. Miracle Leaf began selling franchises in 2018 and now has offices in Florida, Georgia, Texas and Ohio.
Though there are dozens of qualifying conditions, people most often seek out medical cannabis products to help with PSTD, arthritis, anxiety, migraine and insomnia. To see a list of qualifying conditions, go to mymiracleleaf.com/florida.
The risk of addiction is much lower than that of Oxycontin and other opioids.
“Our doctors are very passionate about medical marijuana as an alternative medicine,” said Padilla.
Miracle Leaf performs the initial intake for clients and sets them up with appointments with a physician in the store. The client and physician have a consultation and then, if approved, the client leaves the store with a recommendation, which is then taken to a dispensary.
Alternately, Miracle Leaf sells retail medical and pharmaceutical-grade CBD products, which are made from hemp, and are available in gummies and topicals.
“With CBD, you get the benefits without the high,” said Padilla.
Miracle Leaf also treats pets.
According to Travis Wright, Miracle Leaf vice president of operations, the Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use reports that there are 2,748 qualified physicians and 864,662 qualified patients in the state.
“We’re very passionate about what we do,” said Padilla. “We feel like there is not a day that goes by where we don’t hear from a franchisee or from a client that says, ‘Thank you. You’ve changed my life.’”
For further information, go to mymiracleleaf.com/st-augustine.
