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Florida Residents Could Face a Long Wait for Amendment 2

Lukas Barfield

December 21st, 2016

Policy, Top Story

The November election brought big wins for medical cannabis patients and recreational cannabis enthusiast around the country. Both medical and recreational cannabis rode the winds of change in the 2016 election. California, Nevada, Massachusetts and Maine all passed recreational cannabis, and North Dakota, Florida and Arkansas passed much needed medical cannabis. This brings the number of states who allow recreational cannabis to 8 and some form of full plant medical cannabis to an encouraging total of 28, plus D.C. The outcome of this election was a big step forward in cannabis, but perhaps medical cannabis coming to Florida was the most consequential due to its location in the Deep South and influence on the national stage. Unfortunately, despite the Florida MMJ amendment passing with 71% of the vote there are signs that the medical cannabis roll out in the Sunshine State won’t be as smooth as the voters expect.

Amendment 2 Passes

Florida’s Amendment 2 narrowly failed in 2014, but the activist behind the effort worked to put it back on the ballot in 2016. With the loss behind them, the bills sponsor, United for Care, improved the language of the amendment to silence critics around youth access, tightened up language around qualifying conditions and closed the so called “drug dealer loop hole”.

The amendment amends the Florida constitution to allow doctors to recommend medical cannabis to patients with a wide variety of debilitating conditions. They launched the signature gathering campaign in early 2016, and soon had the 683,000 signatures needed to get the amendment back on the ballot. United for Care raised over $12.5 million during the 2016 campaign. John Morgan, the amendments most vocal supporter, donated the largest share. The Florida MMJ amendment garnered wide support with groups like the AFLCIO, ACLU of Florida, Teamsters 2011, the Florida Democratic Party, United Teachers of Dade, a handful of public figures and many more organizations. Editorials appealing for compassion appeared regularly in newspapers across the state, public figures spoke out for or against the bill, pundits debated and after a thorough discussion in the media the amendment passed on November 8th with a 71% majority. It passed with over 60% of the vote in all but 2 counties.

Don’t Celebrate Yet

Patients and activist across the state celebrated, but maybe a little too soon.

Despite its wide support across Florida, massive financial backing and a landslide victory there are still powerful opponents of the law. No On 2 was the primary group against the amendment, but many other influential forces such as the Florida Medical Association, Chamber of Commerce, Florida Sheriff’s Association and others in the law enforcement community were, and still are, against it. No On 2 cited reasons such as teen access, untrained “bud tenders, A2 being a back door to legalization and unspecific dispensary numbers were some primary reasons No On 2 believed Florida MMJ should fail.

The day after the amendment passed No On 2 issued a defiant press release including this statement: “Now that Amendment 2 has passed, the fight moves on to the Florida Legislature. The authors of Amendment 2 have long maintained that the legislature has wide discretion to regulate the implementation of Amendment 2 for the health, safety and welfare of all Floridians. Therefore, we implore the legislature to take the authors of Amendment 2 at their word by passing implementing legislation that bans pot candy, puts a limit on THC levels, tightly defines ‘other debilitating medical conditions,’ and gives local communities the right to limit, restrict, and outright ban pot shops.”

Implementing Amendment 2

On December 13th, the Florida Senate Health Policy Committee held a workshop to begin the process of implementing Florida’s amendment 2. The Florida Legislature and Department of Health have 6 months to draft the new regulations and 9 months to implement them. However, many cities around the state have already placed moratoriums on medical cannabis shops, making the timeline even longer for some patients in the state.

In other states much friendlier to cannabis, such as Washington and Colorado, these regulations and moratoriums have taken years to sort out. Florida’s low THC cannabis law that passed in 2014, which allowed the dispensing of low THC cannabis, has taken 2 years to implement. The roll out is still moving forward at a snails pace. Additionally, once the rules of the road are established growers and processes will need time to produce the products needed to stock a medical cannabis system.

All this combined could push medical cannabis coming to some parts of the state far into the future, possibly leaving patients without their needed medicine for some time.

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This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Lukas Barfield

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