The Florida House Healthcare Regulation Subcommittee, which oversees the state’s adult-use marijuana legislation, approved a revised version of a bill that would limit THC levels in recreational cannabis products.
Before advancing HB 1269 the panel adopted an amendment from the sponsor, Rep. Ralph Massullo(R), significantly increasing the proposed THC cap for marijuana flower from 10 percent to 30 percent.
The bill was then approved by a vote of 13 to 4.
Massullo said that “we’re just at the beginning” of understanding long-term effects and benefits of marijuana products with high THC levels. He added that the proposed limits would only be implemented if a constitutional amendment was adopted.
He said, “I won’t tell you what my opinion is on recreational marijuana,” before the panel voted. “But I will say that we are responsible for keeping the public safe.” It is important to think long-term and not react.
Some have expressed concern about the apparent association between high-THC product and mental health issues, particularly in developing brains, as more states legalize marijuana and more highly concentrated THC products are available.
Massullo’s measure, in addition to the revised restrictions on smokable cannabis, would also impose an 80 percent THC cap on all other marijuana-related products, and set a serving size of 10 milligrams THC for edibles with a maximum 200 mg per package.
Some members were concerned about the proposal, despite the fact that the subcommittee had advanced the bill.
Rep. Robin Bartleman, the panel’s top Democrat, said that she was voting against this bill because she “doesn’t think we should be piecemealing it.” She urged her colleagues to get ready to adopt a “more comprehensive package” which includes a set of regulations for adult-use cannabis.
Bartleman stated, “I would rather wait to deal with everything all at once.”
Rep. Kelly Skidmore expressed similar concerns. She praised the bill as “visionary” and for looking to the future, but said THC caps are just one thing lawmakers will need to address should voters approve recreational marijuana.
How are we going regulate this? Who will be able to obtain these licenses? “Will it be available in every convenience shop?” asked she. “I believe there are many issues that we should discuss and talk about, and I think this is a bit premature.”
Two other legislators said that they would support the proposal despite their reservations, particularly in light of the higher THC cap for marijuana flowers.
“Oftentimes people are driven into the illicit market.” “It’s not at all regulated,” said Rep. Gallop Franklin II, (D), pointing out that dangerous adulterants found in unregulated products could cause more harm than THC.
Rep. Adam Anderson, another yes voter, stated that a low THC limit could lead to people simply consuming more marijuana in order “to achieve the desired effects” – a concept called self-titration.
He said that they would be smoking a greater amount of the plant. This could contain other additives or materials which are potentially harmful.
Anderson stated that he supported the bill as amended because it was “our duty as legislators to be proactive”.
Massullo said: “I applaud your efforts in getting ahead of the game, being productive and sending out some guidance to the industry about what this policy looks like.”
The bill introduced by Massullo in the last month would come into effect 30 days following any constitutional amendment that allowed legalization.
Florida’s medical marijuana dosage limits are not based on THC content.
Although the legalization measure has not officially qualified for the November ballot, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently predicted that activists would win in court against a challenge by the Attorney General who wants to block the vote.
The governor told his last campaign event in New Hampshire, “I think that the court will approve that,” so it’ll be put on the ballot.
The Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has requested that the court invalidate the ballot measure despite activists having collected nearly one million valid signatures. The official successfully petitioned the justices in order to stop a 2022 initiative being considered by voters.
The governor says that this time, it won’t happen. He opposes reform, and promised not to decriminalize cannabis if he were elected president while he ran for office. But he believes voters will have a chance to make a decision this time.
The state Supreme Court has yet to issue a decision in the case vs. the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign. The state will have to make a decision by April 1.
DeSantis has also spoken out on another cannabis-related issue. He told Murphy separately that the federal gun prohibition for state-legal pot consumers is not constitutional. Nikki Fried of Florida’s former agricultural commission filed a lawsuit against Biden over the rule. The governor was not involved.
A poll conducted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce last month showed that , the reform proposal has the majority of support among likely voters — but not enough to reach the 60 percent threshold required for the passage of the bill in Florida.
Other polls show that voters have more than enough support to pass the legalization measure. Last month, the University of North Florida released a poll that indicated 67 percent of voters supported the proposal.
Trulieve, a multi-state marijuana firm, has donated over $40 million so far to the Smart and Safe Florida Campaign. The state attorney general accused the company that it was supporting the measure to gain a “monopolistic grip” on the cannabis market in the state.
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The measure, if approved, would amend the state Constitution so that existing medical cannabis companies like Trulieve in the state could begin selling marijuana for all adults older than 21. The measure contains a clause that allows, but does not force, lawmakers to move forward with the approval of new businesses. The proposal would prohibit home cultivation by consumers.
Adults aged 21 or older could purchase and possess cannabis up to an ounce, of which only five grams would be marijuana concentrate. The three-page document also excludes equity provisions that are favored by supporters, such as expungements and other reliefs for people who have prior cannabis convictions.
If voters approve the initiative, economic analysts in the Florida legislature and DeSantis’s office estimate the marijuana legalization measure would produce between $195.6 and $431.3 millions of new sales tax revenue each year. These figures could rise if legislators imposed an excise tax similar to those in other legalized state on cannabis transactions.
DeSantis, however, has stated that he will not support this measure regardless of its economic potential. DeSantis also suggested recently that some of the growth in Florida’s medical marijuana patient population was due to users using the program as “pretext” to use recreational cannabis.
A law passed by the Governor last summer added restrictions on medical marijuana advertising and manufacture. It prohibited any products or messages which promote “recreational cannabis use” while adding stricter eligibility requirements for industry workers.
In June, the Governor approved a bill that explicitly prohibited sober living homes from allowing their residents to possess or to use medical marijuana. This is true even if a patient has been certified by a physician to use cannabis legally therapeutically according to state law. Nevertheless, all other pharmaceuticals prescribed by a doctor may be allowed.
In July , he signed a law prohibiting the sale of all consumable hemp products — including cannabis “chewing-gum” — to anyone under 21. This is an extension of the existing ban on young people purchasing smokable hra.
The organizer of , a separate Florida ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana cultivation by patients withdrew their proposal recently. They explained that the campaign had raised only a little more than $4,000 but could not cover the costs of trying to qualify this measure.
A Florida Republican Senator introduced a bill to the Florida legislature in December that would allow medical cannabis businesses licensed to do business to claim state tax deductions, which they cannot claim at the federal level due to an Internal Revenue Service code (IRS) known as 280E.
Florida House panel passes bill to restrict hemp-derived products despite objections from patients
The first time Marijuana moment published the article Florida Lawmakers Approve a Bill to Place THC Limit on Recreational Marijuana Before A Possible Ballot Vote On Legalization.
