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The legalization of marijuana in Florida is a topic that has been looming over Floridians for many years. In Florida medical marijuana is legal but recreational marijuana is not.
Many states have already gone forth in legalizing recreational marijuana and those states are definitely reaping the benefits. The marijuana industry has created many jobs and has become a reputable source of medicine for patients in need.
Florida could only benefit from legalizing recreational use, so what is taking so long for it to happen?
In 2014, Floridians initiated an instructional amendment that birthed a medical marijuana program. This program only allowed terminally ill patients or patients with only 1 year to live to qualify for a medical marijuana card.
Another amendment quickly followed in 2016. The 2016 amendment sought to improve the original program and it expanded the list of conditions a patient must have to qualify for a medical marijuana card. The newer 2016 amendment included allowing patients who have debilitating medical conditions such as; HIV, AIDS, Parkinsons, PTSD, etc. to receive a medical marijuana card.
Florida passed a bill through its senate prohibiting marijuana patients to buy/smoke flowered cannabis. This meant that med card holders could only purchase cannabis concentrates or tinctures. Basically you were not allowed to actually smoke weed, it had to be in the form of some sort of concentrate.With this ban in place moves to legalize recreational weed suffered a major setback.
The ban was only recently lifted and med card holders are finally able to actually smoke marijuana legally.
Floridian laws seem to be very hard on people who violate the rules and regulations surrounding marijuana use. For example the punishment for possessing marijuana in the state of Florida could mean expensive fines and/or jail time.
If you are anywhere in Florida besides Miami and you happen to be in the possession of 20 grams or less or marijuana, you could be charged with a misdemeanor, 1 year in jail and a fine of $1,000.
If you are in the possession of anything greater than 20 grams and you get caught it is considered a felony and you could possibly serve anywhere from 5 to 30 years of jail time and you could have to pay up to $200,000 worth of fines.
Many Florida marijuana laws include a mandatory minimum sentence for both possession and/or illegal distribution (not a licensed dispensary). Let's say you were caught in the possession of 2,000 lbs of marijuana, you would have to serve a mandatory 7 years of jail time.
Honestly, every marijuana enthusiast would love to have their way in achieving the legal freedom of recreational marijuana. The hope is that sooner rather than later there will be no restrictions on the use of recreational marijuana in Florida. The possibility of the legalization of recreational marijuana is not a farfetched idea, but it can only be achieved through hard work and dedication along with the actions I have listed below.
Members of the legislative house of Florida can pass a bill that will legalize recreational marijuana in Florida. This process is long and must go through many hoops before being approved.
This method involves a voting initiative which would develop a proposal to gather enough signatures across the state of Florida. If such signatures are large enough it will win the ballot. It may seem like a crazy idea but in many states it has proven to be an effective and prosperous method.
Floridians have experienced some difficulty in trying to legalize recreational marijuana. However, all hope is not lost as many advocates are working round the clock to kick-start a ballot initiative petition this year. These advocates are hoping that a sufficient amount of votes will be gathered at the ballot. If this is not done then the chance of getting a vote in senate will be delayed until November of 2020 or beyond.
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