Florida Legislature Fails to Implement Medical Marijuana Initiative, Leaving it to Health Officials

The Florida legislative session ended without a medical marijuana implementation bill being passed. As a result,  state health officials will now have to implement Amendment 2, the initiative approved last November by more than 71% of voters.

According to a report from the News Service of Florida:

A potential deal collapsed Friday evening after the House amended its proposal (HB 1397) to impose a cap of 100 retail outlets for each of the state's medical marijuana operators, over the objections of some Democrats. The Senate had proposed a cap of 10, at least for now.

The Florida Department of Health now has until next month to issue regulations for implementation of Amendment 2. Unfortunately, the Department of Health’s proposed guidelines, circulated earlier this year, are too restrictive and inconsistent with the overwhelmingly popular amendment. MPP submitted public comments criticizing the Department’s proposed regulations.

If you reside in Florida, please contact the Department of Health’s Office of Compassionate Use and request that regulations be focused on patient access and market accessibility. Specifically, tell the Department of Health to:

1. Allow physician recommendations without requiring doctors to specify a type or quantity of medical marijuana;
2. Permit patients to use medical marijuana by smoking, vaping, or consuming edibles; and
3. Avoid any limitation on the doctor-patient relationship and allow doctors to recommend after a reasonable assessment.