Florida
348,658
Registered Patient Population |
1.62%
of Total Population Represented by Patients |
250
Total Medical Retail Locations Currently in Operation |
1,395 : 1
Patients : Retail |
Medical cannabis is legal in Florida; however, patients report limited access due to high prices. They also have concerns regarding the quality of the medicine in Florida and its lack of product variety. Patients and caregivers in Florida may possess up to 4 ounces. There is no reciprocity for out of state patients in Florida
 Patient Rights and Civil Protection |
69/100 |
|
| Arrest Protection |
40/40 |
| Affirmative Defense |
13/15 |
| Parental Rights Protections |
0/10 |
| DUI Protections |
0/5 |
| Employment Protections |
5/5 |
| Explicit Privacy Standards |
7/7 |
| Housing Protections |
0/5 |
| Does Not Create New Criminal Penalties for Patients |
4/5 |
| Organ Transplants |
0/5 |
| Reciprocity |
0/3 |
|
|
Access to Medicine |
67/100 |
|
| Allows Distribution Programs |
35/40 |
| – Allows Access to Dried Flowers |
15/15 |
| – Allows Delivery |
5/5 |
| – No Sales Tax or Reasonable Sales Tax |
5/5 |
| – Allows for a Reasonable Number of Dispensaries |
5/5 |
| – Does Not Require Vertical Integration |
0/2 |
| – Ownership/Employment Restrictions |
1/2 |
| – Provisions for Labor Standards |
2/2 |
| – Environmental Impact Regulations |
0/2 |
| – Choice of Dispensary Without Restrictions |
2/2 |
| Noncommercial Cultivation |
2/20 |
| – Personal Cultivation |
2/15 |
| – Collective Gardening |
0/5 |
| Explicit Right to Edibles/Concentrates/Other Forms |
9/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans or Limits on THC |
9/10 |
| Does not Impose Bans on CBD |
4/10 |
| Local Bans/Zoning |
8/10 |
|
|
Ease of Navigation |
75/100 |
|
| Comprehensive Qualifying Conditions |
45/50 |
| Adding New Conditions |
7/10 |
| – Law/Regulations Allow for New Conditions |
5/5 |
| – System Works for Adding New Conditions |
2/5 |
| Reasonable Access for Minors |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Caregiver Background Checks |
0/4 |
| Number of Caregivers |
0/2 |
| Patient/Practitioner-Focused Task Force or Advisory Board |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Fees (Patients and Caregivers) |
5/10 |
| Allows Multiple-Year Registrations |
0/2 |
| Reasonable Physician Requirements |
5/5 |
| Does Not Classify Cannabis as a Medicine of Last Resort |
5/5 |
|
|
Functionality |
71/100 |
|
| Patients Able to Access Medicine at Dispensaries or by Cultivation |
40/50 |
| No Significant Administrative or Supply Problems |
10/15 |
| Patients Can Receive Legal Protections Within Reasonable Time Frame of Doctor's Recommendation |
8/10 |
| Reasonable Possession Limits |
5/5 |
| Reasonable Purchase Limits |
5/5 |
| Allows Patients to Medicate Where They Choose |
3/5 |
| Covered by Insurance/State Health Aid |
0/3 |
| Financial Hardship (Fee Waivers/Discount Medicine) |
0/7 |
|
|
Consumer Safety and Provider Requirements |
70.83/100 |
|
| Dispensing |
21.34/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility Sanitary Conditions |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1.25/1.25 |
| – Inventory Control |
1.25/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Product Labeling |
3.34/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
0/1.67 |
| – Potency/Compound Identification |
1.67/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
3/5 |
| – Active Compound Identification |
1/1.67 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1.67 |
| – Potency |
1/1.67 |
| Grow/Cultivation |
21.00/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Storage Protocols (Short-Term and Long-Term Storage) |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0.71/0.71 |
| – Water Management |
0.71/0.71 |
| Pesticide Guidance |
4/5 |
| – Pesticide Guidance |
2/2.5 |
| – Pesticide Labeling |
2/2.5 |
| Required Testing |
2/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1.25 |
| – Contaminants |
0/1.25 |
| – Potency |
1/1.25 |
| – Sample Retention |
0/1.25 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Manufacturing |
21/25 |
| Staff Training |
5/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures |
5/5 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
1/1 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Storage Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Reasonable Security Protocols |
1/1 |
| – Batch and Lot Tracking |
1/1 |
| Product Labeling |
2/5 |
| – Product Contents, Including Source Material Identification |
1/1.67 |
| – Allergens |
/1.67 |
| – Potency and Compound Information |
1/1.67 |
| Required Testing |
4/5 |
| – Active Ingredient Identification |
1/1 |
| – Contaminants |
1/1 |
| – Potency |
1/1 |
| – Shelf Life Testing |
0/1 |
| – Sample Retention |
1/1 |
| Recall Protocol and Adverse Event Reporting |
5/5 |
| Laboratory Operations |
7.49/25 |
| Staff Training |
0/5 |
| Method Validation in Accordance with AHP Guidelines |
0/5 |
| Result Reporting |
5/5 |
| Independent or Third Party |
0/5 |
| Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols |
2.49/5 |
| – Equipment and Instrument Calibration |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Sample Tracking |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Facility and Equipment Sanitary Conditions |
0/0.83 |
| – Disposal/Waste |
0/0.83 |
| – Storage Protocols |
0.83/0.83 |
| – Workforce Safety Protocols |
0/0.83 |
|
|
Covid Response |
18/20
|
|
| Delivery Available? |
6/6
|
| Curbside Pickup Available? |
2/2
|
| Medical Cannabis Essential? |
7/7
|
| Telemedicine Available? |
3/5
|
|
| Excerpted from ASA's 2020 State of the States Report. |
In This Section
In 2014, the Florida legislature passed SB 1030, which creates a registry ID card system for patients with cancer, seizure disorders, or severe and persistent muscle spasms that would allow them to possess and use only cannabis products rich in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in THC. SB 1030 allows the state to license up to five businesses to grow cannabis plants to produce medicine with at least 10% CBD and no more than 0.8% THC.
Under SB 1030, a "qualified patient” is defined as "a resident of this state who has been added to the compassionate use registry by a physician licensed under chapter 458 or chapter 459 to receive low-THC cannabis from a dispensing organization."
In order to recommend low-THC medical cannabis, physicians in Florida must take a training course and enroll with the state Department of Health. To remain eligible to recommend low-THC medical cannabis, the training course must be retaken every time a physician in Florida renews their license.
Under Florida law, “the qualified patient's legal representative may purchase and possess for the patient's medical use up to the amount of low-THC cannabis or medical cannabis ordered for the patient, but not more than a 45-day supply, and a cannabis delivery device ordered for the patient.”
The State of Medical Marijuana in Florida
