TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (The News Service of Florida) - Whether Florida lawmakers will do away with the state’s prohibition against smoking medical marijuana remains up in the air, despite an ultimatum issued by Governor Ron DeSantis.
Saying they failed to heed the will of voters, DeSantis this month ordered lawmakers to eliminate a ban on smokable medical marijuana and, if they don’t comply, threatened to drop the state’s appeal of a court ruling that found the prohibition violated a 2016 constitutional amendment.
But, addressing reporters Wednesday during an Associated Press pre-legislative session gathering, House Speaker José Oliva and Senate President Bill Galvano raised doubts about whether the governor will get what he wants.
Speaker Oliva expressed concern that allowing patients to smoke the marijuana treatment amounts to a de facto authorization of marijuana for recreational use.
“The discussion that is being had now is, basically, we want recreational marijuana," said Oliva. "We want to call it medicine, because if you call it medicine we have some cover, so that’s what we would like.”
The constitutional amendment, approved by more than 71 percent of voters, legalized medical marijuana for patients with a broad swath of debilitating conditions.
The House is concerned about issues such as dosing, the use of medical marijuana by children and the fact that marijuana remains illegal under federal law.
However, Governor DeSantis is among the many critics of the smoking ban who believe voters thought the amendment would allow smoking.
