Florida governor Rick Scott approves medical marijuana expansion

Bill to create new regulations for medical marijuana use

Terminally ill patients will now have access to medical marijuana, following Governor Rick Scott signing a new bill approving the measure. The bill seeks to remove the current administrative and legal challenges patients in the state often face to obtain medical strains of marijuana for specific, severe illnesses.

The bill, which was one of the most hotly-debated pieces of legislation during this year’s regular session in Tallahassee, overwhelmingly won the approval of state lawmakers earlier this month and will create new regulations for medical marijuana use in the Sunshine State. Floridians who have less than a year to live would be able to use certain non-smokable forms of medical marijuana.

Five dispensing organizations were selected in November to grow marijuana, but there were administrative challenges. An additional organization won an administrative challenge last month due to a background check being wrongly disqualified. Efforts to legalize medical marijuana in the sunshine state will return to the ballot for next year’s presidential elections in November, following a recent ruling for the state supreme court. To pass, the measure will need at least 683,000 validated petitions, according to medical marijuana advocacy group, United With Care. As of Thursday, the group needed to collect around 274,000 more signatures, according to the Florida Division of Elections. If approved, medical marijuana could become a big industry in Florida, with experts estimating a $785 million market value.

Medical pot would only be allowed for use for those with “debilitating” medical conditions which would include cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, and for other conditions which a physician feels using medical marijuana would outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.