Tallahassee, FL: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation (SB 2514) into law suspending the registrations of medical cannabis patients and caregivers who have certain drug-related convictions on their records.
The new provisions are included in a Health and Human Services appropriations bill. The language reads, “The Department shall immediately suspend the registration” of any patient or caregiver convicted of “trafficking in the sale, manufacture, or delivery of, or possession with intent to sell, … of a controlled substance.”
Those who have their registrations revoked may reapply to participate in the program after they have “completed all terms” related to their conviction.
An earlier version of the bill sought to revoke registrations for any patient or caregiver convicted of even minor drug-related offenses, including those specific to the purchase of more than ten grams of marijuana. That language was eventually amended in a conference committee.
NORML generated hundreds of emails to lawmakers opposing the new restrictions, opining: “Patients do not lose their access to opioids and other traditional medications based on past convictions. They should not lose their access to medical cannabis either.”
Some 900,000 Floridians are registered in the state’s medical cannabis access program.
A summary of Florida’s medical cannabis access program is available from NORML.