TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NSF) - A Senate proposal that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana is ready to go to the full Senate after the Rules Committee unanimously signed off on the measure Wednesday.
RELATED: Florida Moving to Allow Smokable Medical Marijuana
Gov. Ron DeSantis gave the Legislature until March 15--10 days after the 2019 session begins--to do away with Florida’s ban on smokable medical marijuana. If legislators don’t address the issue by then, the governor threatened to drop the state’s appeal of a court ruling that said the ban violates a voter-approved constitutional amendment broadly legalizing medical marijuana.
The Senate proposal (SB 182), sponsored by St. Petersburg Republican Jeff Brandes, would allow patients over the age of 18 to smoke marijuana if their doctors decide it’s the best form of treatment. Patients younger than 18 would be banned from smoking, unless they are terminally ill and have a second opinion from a pediatrician supporting the treatment.
