Medical marijuana smoking ban close to being repealed in Florida

With plenty of breathing room before a March 15 deadline set by Gov. Ron DeSantis, House and Senate leaders are close to doing away with a state ban on smoking medical marijuana.

State Sen. Jeff Brandes and state Rep. Ray Rodrigues confirmed Wednesday they’ve reached an accord on a proposal that would allow patients to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana for smoking every 35 days, ban smoking of medical marijuana in public places and allow terminally ill children to smoke the treatment, but only if they have a second opinion from a pediatrician.

After taking office in January, DeSantis gave the Legislature until March 15 to eliminate the smoking ban. If lawmakers don’t act, DeSantis has threatened to drop the state’s appeal of a court decision that found the prohibition ran afoul of a voter-approved constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, filed an amendment late Tuesday that’s a blueprint for the repeal of the smoking prohibition. He predicted the full Senate could amend its smoking-ban legislation and take a floor vote as early as Thursday. [Read more at Orlando Sentinel]