A Florida judge on Tuesday ordered the state to draft rules permitting medical marijuana patients to legally smoke the plant, signaling the end to a 2017 law banning combustible cannabis.
In a four-page ruling, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers upheld her May 25 decision quashing Florida’s ban on smokeable medical marijuana and gave the state until June 11 to start writing new rules ensuring registered patients can legally obtain and consume cannabis in its leafy green form rather than just oils, edibles and other infused products as allowed under existing law.
Delaying the ruling any further would cause irreparable harm to patients who use marijuana to treat debilitating medical conditions in accordance with the Florida constitutional amendment permitting the plant, the judge ruled, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
“First, they cannot legally access the treatment recommended for them. Second, they face potential criminal prosecution for possession and use of the medicinal substance,” the judge ruled.
Nearly three-fourths of Florida voters cast ballots in 2016 in favor of amending the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana, but the state legislature passed a law the following year outlawing smokeable cannabis and instead relegated patients to eating edibles, ingesting cannabis oil or vaporizing the plant, prompting the lawsuit heard in Leon County.
The judge ruled last month that the 2017 ban violated the constitutional amendment, and the state Department of Health filed an appeal immediately afterwards that imposed an automatic stay on her ruling pending further proceedings.
Attorneys for the state reiterate their cases during an hourlong hearing Monday in Leon County Circuit Court, but ultimately the judge ruled to lift the stay and let medical marijuana patients legally smoke pot as soon as Monday.
The Florida Department of Health said it is reviewing the ruling.
“Our focus remains with ensuring that patients have access to medical marijuana, and the Florida Department of Health has made significant progress in making this treatment available,” the statement said. “In fact, there are more than 117,000 patients who have access to medical marijuana and over 1,300 doctors are licensed to order this treatment. There are dispensaries located across the state and patients have access to home delivery.”
Twenty-nine states and D.C. have passed laws legalizing medical marijuana, despite federal law prohibiting the plant.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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