Two days ago, the Senate of Florida’s Congress passed a medical Marijuana bill that would allow people to buy marijuana. The bill included that a system will be implemented so that those with serious conditions like cancer or PTSD can use the drug. This system for cancer and PTSD patients will control the amount of licenses and ID cards so that way there is no fraud. But House members in Florida’s Congress have a different set of ideas that do not concur with what the Senate has to offer in their bill.
Senate Vs. House
The House wants medical marijuana to be tax free.
The Senate does not agree with cannabis being tax free. The Senate also wants to restrict the number of licensed dispensaries and growers in the state. It’s because the Senate does not want a cannabis dispensary on every street corner. But regulations already state that Cannabis Dispensaries must be built 750 feet from other dispensaries, schools, churches, and public parks, so it seems less likely that a cannabis dispensary on every street corner is something to be concerned about.
The bill that the Senate passed gave licenses to nurseries in Central and North Florida. The bill the House wants to pass will give out a license to a grower in Southwest Florida. Many of the language decisions in the House bill seem to be counter-productive to that of the Senate bill, which could lead to a standstill on ideas and the law may not pass.
Since Friday was the last day to pass the law, it is crucial that everyone agrees to all the terms in the bills.
Ticking Down
There are some things in the bill that work for lawmakers. Vaping and edibles in the cannabis bill will be allowed. Lawmakers will also try to make it easier for doctors to become licensed to start recommending cannabis to some of their patients or for patients to get a recommendation for cannabis from a different doctor that is licensed to prescribe the drug.
Since the deadline for all regulations on medical marijuana ends in July of this year, it is crucial that everyone is on board with the types of options that could help patients. If there is no agreement made today on the bill and the regulations are not given out by the Health Department before the July deadline, anyone from Florida can sue the state for not providing access to medical marijuana after the Amendment was passed. Amendment 2 received over 60 percent of majority approval last years during the presidential election of 2016.
