Many of the 71-percent of Floridians who voted for Amendment 2’s expanded use of medical marijuana are likely to be unhappy with a bill from House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues that would limit options and maintain a restricted market for legal cannabis.
HB 1397 enumerates qualifying medical conditions and a regulatory structure for doctor certification, patient registration, and marijuana research that resembles previous bills. It also would exempt marijuana and marijuana products from sales tax, reflecting its designation for medical use.
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But the Estero Republican’s measure would allow for minimal marketplace expansion, meaning that the already-licensed dispensaries maintain an advantage. Further, it would place significant restrictions on what types of medical marijuana products patients have access to. Edible and smokeable cannabis products would be banned, and vaping is limited to terminal patients.
