According to the Associated Press, voters in Florida approved Amendment 2, an expansive medical marijuana law. The AP’s is reporting a final vote count of 71 percent to 29 percent. The Amendment required over 60 percent of the vote to become law.

“The overwhelming majority of Floridians, like voters nationwide, believe that patients ought to have the legal option to choose marijuana therapy as an alternative to conventional, and often dangerous, pharmaceuticals,” said NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano. “With this historic vote, we can expect to see similar programs acknowledging the safety and efficacy of medical cannabis begin to take hold in the southeastern region of the United States.”

Amendment 2 amends the Florida state constitution so that qualified patients who possess a physician’s recommendation may legally possess and obtain medical cannabis provided by state licensed dispensaries. Under the law, a “debilitating medical condition” for which marijuana may be recommended includes is defined as “cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated, and for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.” The home cultivation of cannabis is not permitted under the law.

Existing Florida law restricted limited qualifying patients only to high CBD strains of cannabis, unless they were terminally ill.

Department of Health regulators must begin issuing patient identification cards within nine months of the new law’s enactment. You can read the full text of Amendment 2 here.

“With broad support across all demographics, voters in Florida approved Amendment 2 by a landslide,” said Erik Altieri, NORML’s new Executive Director. “These results are a victory, not just for common sense public policy, but for patients all across the state who will now have access to a safe, effective treatment for a number of debilitating ailments.”

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