Ron DeSantis poised to make Florida marijuana changes

With one of his chief advisers tweeting the hashtag “NoSmokeIsAJoke,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday he will “very soon” announce changes in how the state is carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana.

DeSantis, a Republican, said many voters believe the state has been “foot dragging” in implementing the amendment, largely bankrolled by Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan and approved by more than 71 percent of voters in 2016.

The new governor and his lieutenants have indicated DeSantis intends to abandon an appeal of a court decision that said a ban on smoking medical marijuana violates the constitutional amendment. Former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration appealed the decision to the 1st District Court of Appeal, which heard arguments in the case Tuesday, the same day DeSantis was sworn into office.

Appearing Monday at a press conference in Miami-Dade County to name Judge Robert J. Luck to the Florida Supreme Court, DeSantis said his medical-marijuana announcement will deal not only with “the litigation” but also with “legislation that I think is needed to implement the people’s will.”

The smoking ban was included in a 2017 law that was aimed at carrying out the constitutional amendment. [Read more at Herald-Tribune]