What you can and cannot do in Florida:
Note that it is NOT required for patients to have a 30-day relationship with the recommending physician in order to obtain the card. What is not an option is growing your own. That is still not permitted by law. Smokable flower is also now legal and available for purchase at select dispensaries.
What are the effects of Medical Marijuana?
Note that users of medical marijuana do not necessarily feel the euphoria, or “high,” experienced by recreational users. It depends on the strain you are using. When a physician writes orders for a patient, he or she will take into account that patient’s needs and references. Most particularly, those patients who have certain conditions, including the severe nausea or lack of appetite experienced by some cancer patients, may be given orders that suggest a drug combination that gives a euphoric high, but other strains don’t confer that effect. It is all according to which products the patient is using.
By the same token, patients employing medical cannabis may or may not test positive for THC on drug tests. Patients using cannabidiol, or CBD medicines, may not test positive. Other cannabis medications will cause patients to test positive.
What law was passed to allow Medical Marijuana in Florida?
The Florida medical marijuana law, known as SB 8-A, started life as a general bill that was co-introduced by state senators Bradley and Young and is described as follows:
Medical Use of Marijuana; Providing an exemption from the state tax on sales, use, and other transactions for marijuana and marijuana delivery devices used for medical purposes; providing qualifying medical conditions for a patient to be eligible to receive marijuana or a marijuana delivery device; providing for the establishment of medical marijuana testing laboratories; establishing the Coalition for Medical Marijuana Research and Education within the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Inc., etc. APPROPRIATION: $15,143,440.00. This
bill was introduced as https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2017A/00008A.
Methods of Medical Marijuana Administered
It is legal to smoke medical marijuana, but can also be vaporized (you vape a flower in a sealed, tamper-proof receptacle). It can also be taken in creams, capsules, tinctures, and other forms.
How old do you have to be to qualify?
You do not need to be 18 to apply for a card, but if you are not yet 18 you need to be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian.
Will Medical Marijuana affect my Florida Concealed Weapons Permit?
Possession of a medical marijuana card does not affect your license to carry a concealed weapon. If you have any additional questions we recommend consulting your attorney.