Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill To Revoke Medical Marijuana Cards From People Convicted Of Cannabis And Other Drug Crimes

A legislative proposal now before a Florida conference committee threatens
to revoke medical marijuana registrations for people convicted of certain
drug crimes—including simply purchasing more than 10 grams of cannabis.

The provision, which would affect both registered patients and caregivers,
was agreed to on Tuesday by House lawmakers. It was a part of SB 2514 when
the legislation was filed and later passed by the Senate, while the House
approved an entirely different version of the bill and sent the
disagreement to be ironed out in the conference committee, formed earlier
this month.

As first reported by Florida Politics, House lawmakers have now signed off
on the Senate medical marijuana language, offering to accept that
provision. Though the offer hasn’t been finalized, it’s reportedly “very
likely” the restriction will be included.

The Senate language would require the state Department of Health (DOH) “to
revoke the registration” of a qualified patient or caregiver if that person
“entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or was found guilty” of a
covered drug offense.

Patients’ or caregivers’ registrations would be suspended immediately upon
charges being filed, and the suspensions would last until “final
disposition of the alleged offense.”

It’s not clear from the plain language of the proposal whether it would
impact only future criminal cases involving medical marijuana patients and
caregivers or whether DOH would need to review the records of existing
program registrants and revoke registrations of an untold number of
Floridians with past drug convictions.

Florida Politics wrote of the bill that “for those who found the medical
marijuana program as a way to escape the black market, the new language may
complicate their legal status.”

The provision would impact people charged under the state Drug Abuse
Prevention and Control Act and reportedly covers cases involving the
purchase of more than 10 grams” of any illicit substance or the delivery
“without consideration, [of] 20 grams or less of cannabis.”

Lawmakers defeated several proposals to expand the medical cannabis program
during this year’s regular legislation session—including by allowing home
cultivation, adding new qualifying conditions, protecting employment and
parental rights of patients and letting military veterans register for free.

Meanwhile in Florida, advocates are working toward putting a new adult-use
marijuana legalization measure on the 2026 state ballot following the
failure of Amendment 3 at the polls last November.

After filing the measure and launching a signature drive earlier this year,
the campaign Smart & Safe Florida has collected 377,832 valid
signatures—about 150,000 more than required to kick off the review process,
according to Division of Elections numbers from earlier this month.

The state is now statutorily obligated to conduct a judicial and financial
review of the measure that will determine its legal eligibility and inform
the electorate about its potential economic impact.

Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026.
The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of
dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state
operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that
seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.

For example, it now specifically states that the “smoking and vaping of
marijuana in any public place is prohibited.”Another section asserts that
the legislature would need to approve rules dealing with the “regulation of
the time, place, and manner of the public consumption of marijuana.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had repeatedly condemned the 2024 initiative over
that issue, claiming there were not parameters to prevent public smoking,
while expressing his distaste for the smell of cannabis.

The governor said in February that the newest measure is in “big time
trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from
going before voters next year.

Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure
from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney
general. It’s not entirely clear why he feels this version would face a
different outcome.

While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will
navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming
bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters
backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of
independents and 55 percent of Republicans.

However, the results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida
Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found
majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not
enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.

In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed
a GOP-led bill last month to impose significant restrictions on the ability
to put initiatives on the ballot—a plan that could impair efforts to let
voters decide on marijuana legalization next year.

Separately, a Florida GOP senator claimed recently that the legalization
campaign “tricked” Trump into supporting the 2024 measure by misleading him
and the general public about key provisions.

Ahead of the election, Trump said in September that he felt Amendment 3 was
“going to be very good” for the state.

Before making the comments, Trump met with the CEO of Trulieve, Kim Rivers,
as well as with a GOP state senator who is in favor of the reform.

While Trump endorsed the Florida cannabis initiative—as well as federal
rescheduling and industry banking access—he has since been silent on
cannabis issues. And his cabinet choices have mixed records on marijuana
policy.

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The post Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill To Revoke Medical Marijuana Cards
From People Convicted Of Cannabis And Other Drug Crimes appeared first on Marijuana
Moment.