Patients who are battling cancer and other specific medical conditions and their caregivers would legally be able to grow medical-use marijuana under a constitutional amendment proposed to appear on Florida’s 2024 ballot. Currently, it is illegal in Florida for a person to grow cannabis for any personal use.
Proposed by WISE & Free Florida committee, sponsored by Smart & Safe Florida, and on view on the Florida Division of Elections website, the would-be amendment would allow adult patients 21 years of age and older who have a “Debilitating Medical Condition” and their more than 21-year-old caregivers to cultivate marijuana for medical use at their homes.
Under the proposed amendment, the list of qualifying debilitating medical conditions includes cancer, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Caregivers are those at least 21 years of age who have agreed to assist a person with a qualifying medical condition to use medical marijuana.
Caregivers must be qualified by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) and must hold an identification card issued by the DOH.
Also, under the proposal, caregivers are forbidden from using marijuana obtained for medical use by the patient.
A total of 891,589 valid petition signatures are required for the proposed amendment to appear on the 2024 ballot. Statewide, 420,072 signatures have been recorded by the Florida Department of Elections as of March 7, 2023. 2041 of those were from Hernando County District 12, and none are from District 11.
If voters do approve it, the proposed amendment goes into effect six months after that vote.
