The Florida House of Representatives green-lighted its version of a proposal to regulate Florida’s medical marijuana industry after the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Ray Rodrigues, R-Estero, filed a lengthy strike-all amendment to the legislation early Tuesday morning.
Rodrigues overhauled HB 1397 in a last-minute amendment which spanned 82 pages and made several suggestions and changes to dispensing, labeling and the overall provisions of the medical marijuana industry.
Rodrigues’ bill passed 105-9.
The amended version of the bill would allow patients to get a 70-day supply of medical marijuana, but would put caps on physicians, who would not be able to give more than three 70-day prescriptions to patients at a time.
Under the bill, qualifying patients could find themselves knocked off the Compassionate Use registry if they no longer meet the requirements of a “debilitating” condition or find themselves “cured” of their ailments.
Edibles and vaping are now allowed in the House version of the bill, though smoking is still banned.
HB 1397, viewed as the more restrictive proposal to regulate medical marijuana, would also put a close watch on how medical marijuana is labeled. Edible products, which deliver THC and medical cannabis through tasty treats like cookies and brownies, would need to be placed in “plain, opaque wrapping” marked only with the marijuana universal symbol, which the Department of Health would create.
Anti-drug groups like the Drug Free America Foundation, which has been heavily involved in crafting the bill, expressed fears medical marijuana labels would appeal to children.
Under the amended bill, medical marijuana treatment centers would not be allowed to use cartoon characters or any content appealing to those under 18.
MMTCs would be prohibited from dispensing marijuana from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m., but would be allowed to deliver medical cannabis 24 hours a day.
The Department of Health would be largely responsible for a “marijuana education” plan, warning Floridians about the dangers of marijuana. The amended bill would allow the DOH to use TV ads, radio ads, print media and social media for the campaign against marijuana abuse.
The DOH isn’t the only state agency allowed to run anti-marijuana campaigns under HB 1397. The proposal also allows the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to implement an “impaired driving” campaign to “raise awareness” and “prevent” marijuana-related impaired driving.
Rodrigues' legislation would also expand the number of medical marijuana growing licenses by 10 before July 2018 and there will be no limits to how many retail shops a cannabis grower can open under the House version of the bill. Four new licenses would be granted for every 100,000 patients under the compassionate use registry.
State reps largely hopped onboard with the proposal, with many saying Rodrigues’ bill was an important starting point for negotiations over the future of medical cannabis in Florida.
"[Medical marijuana] is something that will help a lot of people,” said Rep. Joe Geller, D-Lake Worth, who voted for the bill despite reservations. “We need to remember that."
Other lawmakers said they couldn’t vote in favor of a proposal which totally excludes smoking as a form of ingesting the drug.
"Who are we to tell legitimate patients that they can't smoke cannabis?” asked Rep. Carlos Smith, D-Orlando. “That's not our business, members."
Despite some opposition, to Rodrigues, the time is now for lawmakers to reach an agreement over the future of medical marijuana in Florida.
"If we fail to pass an implementing bill, this will come back to us next session,” he said.
The Florida Senate has yet to vote on its proposal on medical marijuana, but a vote on the measure is officially scheduled for Wednesday. The legislative session ends Friday.
Reach reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen.
