A Florida House panel on Tuesday unanimously approved a bill that would exempt military veterans from state registration fees for medical marijuana cards, allowing them to obtain the certifications for free.
Alex Andrade’s (R) HB 555 was approved by the House Health and Human Services Committee on a 21-0 vote.
In its original form, the bill would have introduced more substantive changes to medical cannabis programs in the state, such as allowing for home cultivation, as well as reciprocity between out-ofstate and local patients. However, earlier this month, the House Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee substituted its original language for a 2-page replacement that only made small changes to medical cannabis program.
The first change is that patients would no longer need to renew medical marijuana cards annually, but rather every two years.
In addition, the State would be prohibited from charging veterans any fees to obtain, replace or renew their identification cards.
There were only a handful of people who spoke in favor of this measure, but no one was against it.
Melissa Villar, Tallahassee NORML, said when Florida’s program for medical cannabis launched “it was the highest priced in the nation for patients and business entry.” She urged lawmakers to extend the bill beyond veterans to include discounted or free patient cards to people with disabilities or low income.
If HB 555 becomes law, the changes would take effect July 1.
House and Senate legislators are also considering a bill that would ban fungal spores which produce mushrooms that contain psilocybin, or psylocin.
This bill, which is approximately 150 pages long, would amend Florida agricultural laws in a number of ways, such as around utility services, agricultural land, and wildlife management.
Both would prohibit transporting, exporting, selling, or giving away “mycelium or spores capable of producing mushrooms” or any other materials that will contain controlled substances, such as psilocybin, or psilocyn during their lifecycle.
Violation of the proposed law is a misdemeanor in first degree, punishable by up to one year imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.
The Senate last week also passed a bill that would restrict hemp-derived THC products, including popular THC-infused beverages.
This proposal, among other things, would ban any synthetic cannabinoids including delta-8-THC. Delta-9 THC content in hemp-derived product cannot exceed five milligrams or fifty milligrams for each container.
The amount of THC in hemp-infused drinks to just five milligrams per container, and the beverages could be sold only by retailers with liquor licenses—a provision backed by lobbyists representing the beer and wine industries.
Meanwhile, a state judge last month dismissed a lawsuit from the cannabis company Trulieve against the state Republican Party over last year’s failed constitutional amendment that sought to legalize adult-use marijuana.
The judge agreed with the company’s argument that the GOP opposition campaign had been “intentionally false,” and “demonstrably fabricated” claims, which were “trying” to “fool Florida voters” in opposing reform.
Smart and Safe Florida’s failed legalization campaign is gearing itself up for a new ballot battle next year. The Florida Division of Elections reports that the campaign has so far collected just 7,500 of the required 891,523 valid signatures to be included on the ballot of 2026.
The campaign’s 2026 iteration includes several changes that seem responsive to issues raised by critics about the 2024 version.
State officials recently sent a cease-and-desist letter to the campaign, however, alleging the group “committed multiple election law violations.”
A recent survey from the University of North Florida found that, despite last year’s ballot proposal failing, there’s overwhelming, bipartisan voter support for the reform. It showed that 67 percent of Florida voters now back legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.
The results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.
Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in January that the latest version of the legalization initiative is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from going before voters next year.
CDC Federal report: Vaping, Dabbing and edible marijuana are becoming more popular.