TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he wants to allow Floridians to smoke medical marijuana, and is urging state lawmakers to change a state law banning the practice.

DeSantis, who has signaled for months his opposition to efforts by other Republicans to block the smoking of medical marijuana, said he'd prefer the Legislature to strip the ban from state law that implemented a 2016 constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana.

But if they don't do it quickly when the legislative session begins in early March, DeSantis said he'll drop a state court appeal that seeks to reverse a judge's ruling overturning the smoking ban.

“What the Florida Legislature has done to implement the people’s will has not been done in accordance with what the amendment envisioned,” DeSantis said. “Whether (patients) want to smoke it or not, who am I to judge that? I want people to be able to have their suffering relieved. I don’t think this law is up to snuff.”

It is the latest example in just over a week into his term that shows DeSantis governing like a moderate rather than the more stereotypical staunch conservative that many perceived him as during his campaign.

While it is too early to tell exactly how he will work with lawmakers, his decisions on the environment, appointments and pardons have so far suggested a more moderate Republican leader. Last week, DeSantis launched a series of environmental reforms that received bipartisan praise, including calling for the resignations of all board members overseeing the South Florida Water Management District and an additional $1 billion for water protection efforts.

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DeSantis' announcement Thursday also gives insight into how he may engage with the Republican-controlled Legislature, where conservative Republicans who voted for the smoking ban after voters approved the amendment are leaders in the Florida House.

"I am somebody who respects the prerogative of the Legislature," DeSantis said "I don't want these things handled judicially if we can help it."

While some Republican lawmakers support medical marijuana, the House and Senate are sharply divided on smoking for medicinal use.

House Speaker Jose Oliva in a statement said he appreciated the governor's willingness to work with them, rather than unilaterally deciding to drop the state appeal. Oliva, a Miami Lakes Republican and cigar company CEO, has opposed allowing smoking marijuana for medical use.

"The House will work with the governor on his priorities, including ensuring patients have options and our kids remain protected," Oliva said.

Oliva, a top ally of DeSantis and Lt. Gov. Jeannette Nunez, a former House Speaker pro tempore, said he will work to bring a bill early in the session.

“There’s different views among the Republicans in the House, and the Democrats, so let’s just see if we can get majority behind what the people expected us to do," DeSantis said.

Leadership in the Florida Senate is more open to the idea of giving DeSantis what he wants. Senate President Bill Galvano was quick to say he would honor the governor's request to propose a bill early in session and that there was interest to advance his priority.

"A legislative solution has always been my preferred course of action," Galvano said in a statement. "Many senators share these concerns and have ideas they are interested in advancing, which include smokable forms of treatment."

DeSantis told lawmakers they will have "a couple of weeks" to address the smoking ban during the legislative session.

"If they don't do it," DeSantis said, "we are going to dismiss the case."

DeSantis' actions are cementing his differences from this Republican predecessor, U.S. Sen Rick Scott DeSantis, who fought to keep the smoking ban in court and whose administration was slow to implement state regulations on other aspects on the medical marijuana business, such as edibles. DeSantis has criticized this as "foot dragging" on the implementation of the constitutional amendment.

It remains to be seen how fast the Department of Health, under the DeSantis administration, will act on implementing state regulations on the legal cannabis industry. DeSantis said he is currently focused on finding someone to head that department.

Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the top Democrat in the state, criticized DeSantis for what she said was a "lack of resolution" on the smokable marijuana lawsuit.

"When the people overwhelmingly voted for legalized medical marijuana in 2016, they intended for the medicine to be accessible by patients in the matter which their doctor, not Tallahassee politicians, decides is best for their treatment," Fried said.

There was some speculation before Thursday that DeSantis would unilaterally greenlight smokable marijuana by announcing he was dropping the state's appeal of the court's action allowing smoking. U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz publicly teased the announcement on the issue with Orlando-based attorney John Morgan, who successfully fought the state’s smoking ban in court and bankrolled the 2016 constitutional amendment.

Florida is currently home to more than 210,000 patients, 80 percent of whom have an active medical marijuana card, according to statistics published Jan. 4 by the Florida Department of Health.

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