Florida House balks at total repeal of medical marijuana smoking ban

Florida House leaders have rolled out a proposal that would allow patients to smoke medical marijuana, but only after going through what one critic called a “bureaucratic mess of red tape.”

The House proposal, released Tuesday afternoon, would require doctors get the approval of a “case review panel” before they could order smokable marijuana for patients.

Under a Senate plan approved by a key committee Monday, patients would have to see two doctors before being allowed to smoke, adding to out-of-pocket costs.

The House and Senate efforts come after Gov. Ron DeSantis gave lawmakers until March 15 — 10 days after the annual legislative session begins — to address the smoking issue. If the Legislature does not act, the Republican governor threatened to drop the state’s appeal of a court decision that said a Florida law banning patients from smoking medical marijuana is unconstitutional.

DeSantis, who took office Jan. 8, agrees that the smoking ban runs afoul of a constitutional amendment, overwhelmingly approved by voters in 2016, that legalized medical marijuana for a broad swath of patients.

It’s uncertain whether the House and Senate plans, as they now stand, would garner DeSantis’ approval. [Read more at The Orlando Sentinel]