Florida Lawmakers Kill Medical Marijuana Expansion Bills, Including One To Let Military Veterans Register For Free

Several bills to expand Florida’s medical cannabis program have stalled out for the year, including a measure to exempt military veterans from patient ID card registration fees that was passed unanimously by the House of Representatives.

HB 555, from Rep. Alex Andrade (R), was one of a handful of marijuana-related measures withdrawn in recent days. Unlike the other bills, however, it had passed out of the chamber where it was filed, with House members voting 110–0 in favor. Nonetheless, the Senate indefinitely postponed it and withdrew it from consideration without a vote.

The Senate action occurred on May 3. Florida lawmakers have voted to extend the legislative session into early June, though they’re expected to focus mostly on budgetary matters after returning to Tallahassee.

Other bills that have been set aside without votes include proposals to allow patients to cultivate marijuana at home, expand the list of qualifying conditions for the program and protect employment and parental rights of people who use medical cannabis.

As originally filed, HB 555 would have made significant changes to the state’s existing medical cannabis program, for example allowing home cultivation as well as reciprocity for out-of-state patients. But a House committee amendment replaced its language with a two-page substitute that would make only small adjustments to the medical program.

First, the bill would change how often patients need to renew their medical marijuana cards, from the current annual process to once every two years.

Second, it would waive the $75 registration and renewal fees for veterans, specifying that the state “may not charge a fee for the issuance, replacement, or renewal of an identification card for a qualified patient who is a veteran.”

Sponsor Andrade didn’t respond to multiple requests from Marijuana Moment for comment on the bill’s withdrawal and any possible future action.

Kevin Caldwell, Southeast legislative manager for the advocacy group Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), said that whether or not lawmakers find a way to revive HB 555 during the extended session, “it has been a dismal session for cannabis policy reform in Florida.”

“There were a plethora of good cannabis policies submitted for debate,” he said in an email, “but as has been the case in most legislative sessions in the past few years, the legislature simply doesn’t want to even talk about cannabis policy.”

As for the newly withdrawn measure, Caldwell said lawmakers “whittled HB 555 down from a bill that would have created a much more robust medical cannabis program to a bill that would extend the lifespan of an ID card and waive fees for veterans.”

“Both of those proposed changes are great ideas,” he added, “even they might be too much for legislators.”

Other bills recently postponed and withdrawn from consideration would have protected medical marijuana patient rights and allowed patients to cultivate their own cannabis at home.

HB 83, by Rep. Mitch Rosenwald (D) would have prevented public employers from taking adverse action against workers or job applicants merely because they’re qualified medical marijuana patients. It and companion bill SB 142, from Sen. Tina Polsky (D), were each scuttled by their respective chambers.

SB 146, also from Polsky, would have prevented state courts from deciding parental rights based on their medical marijuana patient status. It further would have prohibited courts from presuming neglect or child endangerment based merely on a parent’s status as a cannabis patient.

SB 546, sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters (R), would have allowed state-registered medical marijuana patients to grow up to two cannabis plants per household for their own use.

Another now-withdrawn bill from Gruters, SB 552, would have added to the state’s list of qualifying medical marijuana conditions those “for which a patient has been prescribed an opioid drug” and called on regulators to make rules allowing out-of-state patients to access Florida’s medical marijuana program.

SB 778, meanwhile, from Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D), would have added “addiction to or dependence on an opioid drug” to Florida’s medical cannabis qualifying conditions.

Separately, fresh changes to Florida law on ballot initiatives are expected create new hurdles for advocates aiming to put legislative proposals before voters—including, potentially, the renewed effort to legalize marijuana in the state.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a measure into law that tightens requirements around citizen-initiated measures. Among other requirements, it mandates that supporters post a $1 million bond before commencing signature gathering, prohibits the use of out-of-state and noncitizen petitioners and narrows the window during which which signatures must be submitted to election officials.

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The new obstacles to placing a proposal on the statewide ballot come on the heels of two contentious constitutional amendments that went before voters last year, including one—Amendment 3—that would have legalized marijuana for adults 21 and older, and another on abortion rights.

The campaign for the marijuana measure, Smart & Safe Florida, took in more than $150 million in campaign funds—with most from large cannabis companies such as Trulieve, a multi-state operator that contributed tens of millions of dollars.

It also clashed with DeSantis as well as the state Republican Party, the latter of which Smart & Safe Florida later sued for allegedly deceiving voters about the measure.

After Amendment 3 last year failed to win the 60 percent voter support needed to pass a constitutional amendment, Smart & Safe Florida is now aiming to put a revised legalization proposal on the 2026 state ballot.

Another group—hoping to qualify a measure that would expand Medicaid in the state—has already sued the DeSantis administration over the new law.

Florida Decides HealthCare said in a press release that the new law is unconstitutional and “significantly undermines Florida’s citizen-led constitutional amendment process” by enacting “sweeping restrictions,” according to the Orlando Sentinel.

While the bill’s sponsors didn’t explicitly say that the new law is a response to any particular issue, arguments about the need to change the process were frequently heard in the run-up to last year’s election in Florida, when both marijuana and abortion rights were on the ballot.

Caldwell, at MPP, said inaction on marijuana reform as was seen this session “leads credence to ballot initiatives campaigns, as does the further tightening of the rules to gather signatures for a ballot initiative. With the under-regulated hemp market unchecked, it is not surprising that people are losing faith in Tallahassee in making decisions for everyday Floridians.”

“After an election in November, where just under 56 percent of voters cast their ballot to legalize cannabis for adults over 21, I had expectations that legislators would try and implement some common sense reforms either on the criminal justice side or on the medical side,” he added. “The growing scandal on how opposition to the legalization campaign was funded continues to spread a dark cloud over Florida politics.”

Going forward, Smart & Safe Florida has so far submitted just under the 220,016 valid signatures needed to trigger a judicial and financial impact review of the proposal. A total of 880,062 valid signatures statewide are currently needed to make the 2026 ballot, according to the Florida Division of Elections.

State elections officials recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to Smart & Safe Florida campaign, alleging that the group has “committed multiple election law violations.”

The Office of Election Crimes and Security (OECS)—part of Florida’s Department of State—also fined Smart & Safe Florida more than $120,000 for submitting completed petitions more than 30 days after they were signed.

The issue was referred to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for a “potential criminal investigation.”

In a statement to Marijuana Moment at the time, a campaign representative said it has confidence in the process and intends to push back on the state’s assertion it violated election law.

“The claims made appear to be a targeted effort to thwart the ability for the people of Florida to express their support of a citizen-driven amendment,” the statement says. “We stand by the process and had legal counsel vet all forms and communications prior to mailing and look forward to challenging the validity of these claims.”

Separately, some Republican lawmakers last month called for a criminal investigation into DeSantis over how $10 million in state funds were used to oppose last year’s ballot initiatives—including an $8.5 million donation to the campaign opposing legalization.

Lawmakers late last month also sent DeSantis a sweeping agricultural bill that includes a provision to outlaw the spores of psychedelic mushrooms.

The bill would outlaw transporting, importing, selling or giving away “spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which will contain a controlled substance, including psilocybin or psilocyn, during its lifecycle.”

Violating the proposed law would be a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying a maximum one year in jail and $1,000 fine.

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Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

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