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.
The House Health and Human Services Committee advanced the legislation, HB 555 from Rep. Alex Andrade (R), on a vote of 21-0.
As originally filed, the measure would have made more significant changes to the state’s existing medical cannabis program, for example allowing home cultivation as well as reciprocity for out-of-state patients. But earlier this month the House Health Professions and Programs Subcommittee replaced its language with a two-page substitute that instead would make only small changes to the medical program.
First, it would change how often patients need to renew their medical marijuana cards, from the current annual process to once every two years.
Second, it would waive the $75 registration and renewal fees for veterans, specifying that the state “may not charge a fee for the issuance, replacement, or renewal of an identification card for a qualified patient who is a veteran.”
A handful of supporters testified ahead of the panel’s vote on Tuesday, and no one spoke against the measure.
Melissa Villar of Tallahassee NORML said that when Florida’s medical cannabis program launched, “it was the most expensive in the country for patients and for business entrance.” She asked lawmakers to expand the bill to go beyond helping military veterans and to additionally provide for discounted or cost-free patient cards for people who are disabled or low income.
If HB 555 becomes law, the changes would take effect July 1.
Separately, House and Senate lawmakers are considering legislation that would outlaw fungal spores that produce mushrooms containing psilocybin or psylocin.
The proposed ban on spores of mushrooms that create psilocybin or psilocin is part of the roughly 150-page bills, which would make a variety of adjustments to Florida’s agricultural laws, including around agricultural lands, utilities and wildlife management.
With respect to psychedelic mushrooms, both would outlaw transporting, importing, selling or giving away “spores or mycelium capable of producing mushrooms or other material which will contain a controlled substance, including psilocybin or psilocyn, during its lifecycle.”
Violating the proposed law would be a first-degree misdemeanor, carrying a maximum one year in jail and $1,000 fine.
The Senate last week also passed a bill that would restrict hemp-derived THC products, including popular THC-infused beverages.
Among other changes, that proposal would forbid any amount of synthetic cannabinoids, including delta-8 THC. The amount of delta-9 THC in hemp-derived products, meanwhile, couldn’t be more than five milligrams per serving or 50 milligrams per 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 company had argued that the GOP’s opposition campaign was “intentionally deceptive,” with “demonstrably false” claims that were “trying to fool Florida voters” into opposing the reform, but a the judge disagreed.
The campaign behind the failed legalization effort, Smart and Safe Florida is already gearing up for another ballot fight next year, having so far submitted just over 7,500 valid signatures of the 891,523 needed to make the 2026 ballot, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
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.
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