Cannabis in Florida

Cannabis in Florida is legal for medical use per Florida Amendment 2 (2016), but illegal for recreational use.

The Victor Licata case

On October 16, 1933, 20-year-old Victor Licata used an axe to murder his parents, two brothers, and a sister while they were asleep. Despite evidence Licata had a pre-existing history of mental illness, police and the press made unattributed claims that he was "addicted" to marijuana. On October 17, 1933, the Tampa Bay Times wrote:

W. D. Bush, city chief detective, said he had made an investigation prior to the crime and learned the slayer had been addicted to smoking marihuana cigarettes for more than six months.^[1]

However, a day later the Chief of Tampa Police Department downplayed the role the drug had in the murders, although he pledged himself to the cause of marijuana prohibition:

Maybe the weed only had a small indirect part in the alleged insanity of the youth, but I am declaring now and for all time that the increasing use of this narcotic must stop and will be stopped." (October 18, 1933) ^[2]

An October 20, 1933, editorial on page six of the Tampa Morning Tribune was entitled "Stop This Murderous Smoke".^[3] The editorial writer called for the prohibition of marijuana:

[I]t may or may not be wholly true that the pernicious marijuana cigarette is responsible for the murderous mania of a Tampa young man in exterminating all the members of his family within his reach — but whether or not the poisonous mind-wrecking weed is mainly accountable for the tragedy its sale should not be and should never have been permitted here or elsewhere.^[2]

CBD oil (2014)

On 20 March 2014, the Florida House of Representatives Budget Committee passed the "so-called Charlotte's Web measure (CS/HB 843)"^[4] designed to limit prosecutors' ability to prosecute those in possession of low THC/high CBD marijuana ("0.5 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol and more than 15 percent of cannabidiol") used for treating seizures. The bill took effect 1 July 2014.^[5][6]

Failed medical cannabis (2014)

A constitutional amendment sponsored by United For Care obtained 745,613 signatures by January 24, 2014 (683,149 were required by Feb. 1). The Supreme Court in Florida ruled 4-3 in favor of allowing the initiative to be decided by voters in the November election, which was decided on January 27, 2014. The House Bill and the Senate Bill for the legalization of medical marijuana is called the "Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act" which received its first read on March 4, 2014 and states: "requiring the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to regulate the manufacture, cultivation, possession, wholesale distribution, dispensing, purchase, delivery, and sale of cannabis for medical use and the manufacture, possession, purchase, sale, use, and delivery of drug paraphernalia; providing that the department is responsible for the licensure and permitting of dispensaries and medical cannabis farms and the registration of owners, directors, officers, members, incorporators, employees, and agents of such farms and dispensaries, etc." This bill would create more restrictive rules then exist in any of the other states which have legalized medical marijuana. HB 843 ("Cathy Jordan Medical Cannabis Act") only allows cannabis oil that contains more than 15% of cannabidiol (CBD) and no more than 0.5% THC.^[7]

In 2014, Florida Amendment 2 (2014) put the question of legalizing medical marijuana to voters. "Amendment 2" failed, receiving 57.6% of the vote; this was short of the 60% supermajority required for constitutional amendments in Florida.^[8]

Medical cannabis (2016)

Florida Amendment 2 passed during the general election on November 8, 2016, with a vote of 71.3% for versus 28.7% against.^[9] The goal of Amendment 2 is to alleviate those suffering from these medical conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualified medical condition or other debilitating medical conditions comparable to those listed.^[10]

Under Amendment 2, medical marijuana will be given to the patient if the physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient. Under the Florida regulations smoking the medication is not allowed; instead the product can be consumed as edibles or by vaping, oils, sprays or pills.^[10] However, on May 25, 2018, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers ruled that the ban on smoking is unconstitutional.^[11] That ruling is now under appeal.

References