Updates

Edibles allowed under emergency rules





Last update: August 31, 2020

Edibles will soon be available to qualified patients as a mode of administering medical cannabis. The emergency rules for allowing edibles — which took a few years to finalize — went into effect on August 27, 2020. Products are expected to be available in dispensaries in the coming weeks. Edibles will be allowed in a various forms, including lozenges, gelatins, baked goods, chocolates, and drink powders. They must also adhere to labeling and packing requirements.



This is a significant improvement to Florida’s medical cannabis program, as it will provide patients benefits to treat their conditions that are unavailable in other modes of administration, such as smoking. Legislative session ends without action on legalization Early in the 2020 legislative session, Sen. Jeff Brandes (R) introduced a bill — SB 1860 — to legalize and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older. A companion bill — HB 1389 — was also introduced in the House.



Unfortunately, the legislature adjourned its session in March without taking action on the bills, and an effort to put legalization on the ballot for voters to decide on in 2020 also failed.



The focus now shifts to 2021. Ask your lawmakers to follow the will of the majority of Floridians and support legalizing, taxing, and regulating cannabis for adult use!

Current marijuana laws in Florida



Possession of small amounts is illegal: Possession of 20 grams or less of marijuana is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $1,000. Possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana is a felony punishable by a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $5,000.



Sale or delivery qualifies as a felony: Sale or delivery within 1,000 feet of a school, college, park, or other specified area is a felony punishable by a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $10,000. The sale of 25 pounds or less of marijuana is a felony punishable by a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $5,000. However, the delivery of 20 grams or less is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum sentence of one year imprisonment and a maximum fine of $1,000.



Medical marijuana permitted: An individual may register as a medical marijuana patient if his or her doctor certifies that the individual suffers from one or more of the following conditions:

Cancer

Epilepsy

Glaucoma

HIV/AIDS

Crohn’s disease

Parkinson’s disease

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

Medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those above

Post-traumatic stress disorder(PTSD)

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

A terminal condition diagnosed by a physician other than the qualified physician issuing the physician certification

Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition

To qualify, a patient must be a permanent or seasonal resident of Florida, be entered into the medical marijuana use registry, and obtain a medical marijuana ID card. You can learn more about the requirements to become a patient here. Patients can purchase marijuana from registered marijuana dispensaries, called Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs). Click here to search for an MMTC near you.

Decriminalization policies adopted across Florida

Since June 2015, a new trend has taken root across Florida — several cities and counties have passed similar ordinances that give officers the discretion to replace arrests for possession of under 20 grams of marijuana with citations. These jurisdictions include Miami-Dade County, Tampa, Key West, Orlando, and Sarasota.



For example, Orlando decriminalized small amounts of marijuana by allowing police officers to give out citations instead of making arrests. If you possess 20 grams of cannabis or less or have marijuana paraphernalia, an officer can choose to give you a citation with a $100 fine if you're a first-time offender, or a $200 fine for a second offense. Repeat offenders can get a fine of up to $500 and a court appearance.



While this is a positive sign, in some jurisdictions, payment of the citation could still result in a criminal record, and some police departments have said that they will continue to arrest everyone in possession of marijuana, so caution should be exercised. For more information, please see our summary of the measures.



While bills that would have decriminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana statewide have been introduced in past legislative sessions, none have passed. Ask your legislators to make marijuana possession a noncriminal civil violation.

Timeline of marijuana policy reform in Florida





1978: The Florida Legislature enacted the Therapeutic Research Program, which was never operational. The program would have required federal permission and would have involved pharmacies dispensing marijuana to cancer and glaucoma patients. It was repealed in 1984.

1991: In Jenks v. State, the First District Court of Appeals allowed two seriously ill HIV/AIDS patients to raise a medical necessity defense to marijuana cultivation and drug paraphernalia charges. The court found that the defendants had met the burden of establishing the defense at trial and reversed the trial court’s judgment and acquitted the defendants.

1998: The same First District Court of Appeals upheld the medical necessity defense again in Sowell v. State, even after the legislature made a slight change to its Schedule I statutory language that was unfriendly to the use of medical marijuana.

2012: Simultaneous bills HJR 353 and SJR 1028, a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana in Florida, were introduced by Rep. Jeff Clemens (D – Lake Worth) and Sen. Larcenia J. Bullard (D – Miami) but never voted on. This marked the first time that medical marijuana bills were filed in both the House and the Senate.

2014: The “Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014” allows specified physicians to issue orders for certain patients, allowing them to use low-THC cannabis, which is defined as having no more than 0.8% THC and more than 10% CBD. It requires the Department of Health to create a registry of patients and to authorize five organizations to grow and dispense the cannabis. Requiring doctors to issue “written orders” rather than recommendations or certifications puts them at risk under federal law.

Advocates were able to get a medical marijuana constitutional amendment on the November 2014 ballot. Since it was a constitutional amendment, it needed 60% or more of the vote to pass. Unfortunately, it only got 57.6%.

2015: Local governments began opting to allow officers to cite, rather than arrest, adults found in possession of marijuana.

2016: Amendment 2 – which established a medical marijuana program – passed with a popular vote of 71%.

2017: In special session, the legislature passed SB8A to regulate Amendment 2, and implementation is underway by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use within Florida’s Department of Health.

2019: The legislature enacted SB 182, repealing a ban it had previously instituted on smoking medical cannabis.

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