marijuana

New rules laying out the do’s and don’ts physicians must follow when certifying patients to smoke medical marijuana took effect last week, but it’s not clear that doctors or patients are fully aware of them. Patients certified or recertified to smoke medical marijuana must sign a new standardized consent form as of last Tuesday.

A Black farmer with ties to doing business in Florida will be at the head of the line for a long-awaited batch of medical-marijuana licenses in an application process that state health officials will launch soon, senior aides to Gov. Ron DeSantis said.

For the second time in two months, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at allowing people to use recreational marijuana. Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters.

The Florida Supreme Court has found the state’s medical marijuana vertical integration system is constitutional. This comes after a years-long effort by Florigrown to open the state’s medical marijuana market to more businesses. The company was denied a treatment center license in 2017.

The court ruled that the amendment would mislead “voters into believing that the recreational use of marijuana in Florida will be free of any repercussions, criminal or otherwise.”

The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at allowing people to use recreational marijuana, saying it would be misleading to voters.

A group of Florida lawmakers is hoping there’s still time this session to move legislation forward that would expand marijuana use beyond the state’s current medical-only program. They’re also hoping to stop legislation some worry could shrink the current program.

Florida doctors on Thursday pushed back against allegations that the state’s medical-marijuana program is being used by people seeking to get high for fun. The physicians spoke out after a committee approved a controversial proposal being pushed by Republican lawmakers in the state House.

The proposal, approved in a party-line vote by the House Professions & Public Health Subcommittee, would place a 10 percent THC cap on smokable marijuana and limit THC levels to 60 percent in most other medical-marijuana products. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main psychoactive component of marijuana that makes users feel high.

Within the next few years hemp farming in Florida is projected to grow to about half the size of the state's citrus industry. Much of that growth is driven by CBD production.

A proposed bill could make it easier for people with minor marijuana convictions to clear their records.

The legislation removes cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and expunges low-level convictions and arrests. But the GOP Senate is not expected to take up the bill.