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Florida Representative Ralph Massullo introduced House Bill 1269 on Jan. 5, which received its first reading on Jan. 9. If passed, the bill would implement limitations on potency in cannabis products specifically if adult-use cannabis is legalized.
The bill proposes strict limitations for smoking products, concentrates, and edibles. “Marijuana for personal use may not have a tetrahydrocannabinol potency, by weight or volume, of greater than 10% for marijuana in a form for smoking or greater than 60% in the final product for all other forms of marijuana, excluding edibles,” the original filed version states. “Edibles for personal use may not contain more than 200 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol and a single serving portion of an edible may not exceed 10 milligrams of tetrahydrocannabinol.”
In comparison to other state potency limitations, Massullo’s potency percentages are much lower. Also, the definition of “potency” within the HB-1269 text is complicated, described as “…the relative strength of cannabinoids, and the total amount, in milligrams, of tetrahydrocannabinol as the sum of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, plus 0.877 multiplied by tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, plus delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol as the sum of cannabidiol, plus 0.877 multiplied by cannabidiolic acid in the final product dispensed to a patient or caregiver.”
There are a few other proposed bills for the Florida 2024 legislative session. House Bill 1435 would create “Registry Identification Cards” for military veterans. House Bill 1497 would exempt specific applicants from medical cannabis treatment center licenses. Senate Bill 94 proposes reduced penalties for a person possessing 20 grams of cannabis or less for the first three violations. Senate Bill 166 would create protections for medical cannabis patients if they are public employees.
Massullo anticipates that adult-use legalization is right around the corner for Florida, especially with the 2024 ballot later this year. One initiative, Smart & Safe Florida, announced in June 2023 that it had gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot this year.
The campaign’s primary funding comes from multistate operation Trulieve. According to a statement by Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, expressed the company’s dedication to consumers. “Our investment demonstrates our firm belief that Floridians are ready to experience the freedom to use cannabis for personal consumption; a freedom which is currently enjoyed by more than half of America’s adults,” Rivers said. “With over 965,000 validated signatures from nearly every part of our state, it is clear these voters share that belief. We are thrilled the campaign has made this milestone and look forward to seeing this initiative on the ballot next November.”
However, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody challenged the initiative just after the initiative gathered enough signatures. “We want to restate the fact that the petition language for this measure—which garnered over a million signatures from Florida voters—was drafted very conservatively and with the guidance of this very court,” Smart & Safe Florida stated in October 2023. “We anticipate that the court will stick to its deferential standard of review and will agree that the language strictly adheres to the law and the Florida constitution and will give the voters the opportunity to vote on this subject.”
In November 2023, oral arguments were made by the Florida Supreme Court. In response, Smart & Safe Florida released a statement about the hearing. “We believe that after today’s oral arguments, it is clear that the language was drafted to conform to the roadmap that the Court itself has provided in prior cases,” the organization wrote. “We hope that the Court agrees that the language strictly adheres to the law and will allow the citizens of Florida to exercise their sovereign right to decide whether to amend their constitution.” So far, no more progress has been made on the case, and the future of Smart & Safe Florida’s initiative is uncertain.
According to data provided by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab, 67% of poll participants said they would support adult-use cannabis in Florida, while only 28% said they would vote no, and 5% said they didn’t know, or declined to answer the question.
Recently, a different cannabis-related 2024 ballot initiative that would have allowed medical cannabis patients to grow their own cannabis at home was recently ended. In late December 2023, activists from a group called Wise and Free announced that they had withdrawn the initiative due to not collecting enough signatures. “The legislators keep making it harder for us to pass constitutional amendments so that giant conglomerates and large corporations are able to accomplish what they want, but we’re not,” said advocate Moriah Barnhart.
The initiative required 900,000 signatures, but the group also lacked necessary funding to properly manage the campaign. “When we could foresee being charged for late petitions in the millions, I couldn’t risk being personally accountable for those fees—especially since donations weren’t coming in to match the expenditures, much less additional costs,” Barnhart continued. “Now, billion-dollar companies and conglomerates are the only people who can have a say in Florida law.”
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The potency/purity (strength) of ANY drug has no relationship to its safety as long as a user has some idea of what they’re consuming (which is not possible under prohibition). This myth has been propagated under the curtain of prohibition and actually endangers people itself by providing a false sense of security.
In fact the exact opposite is true the majority of the time - the purer a drug is the safer its consumption is for a user.
Such illogical nonsense (non-science) is sadly not at all surprising coming from the backwards ignoramuses running Florida.
You got that right. Law makers in Florida are notoriously ignorant, stupid and regressive. A 10% cap on THC would be a gift to the thousands of old school growers who don't care whether it is legal or not. Who wants 10% pot any way?
I have lived in Florida since 1978. I have many, many friends who have loved cannabis for years and have lived happy, healthy, successful lives. Cannabis has always been plentiful and powerful here. I do not know a single person who gets their weed from dispensaries. We get it from our grower friends, many of whom now also grow for the big companies like Trulieve, Surterra, Curaleaf, etc... The reason? The pot we get directly from the illegal market is better and cheaper than what is available from the legal dispensaries. If they limit cannabis to 10% THC, very few people will want it and tax revenues will plunge. Today, if it isn't 20% or more, no one will buy it. How can they be that ignorant?
Nobody wants this law. Not one single person. Pharmaceutical companies list billions every time a state goes green. They're the ones pulling the strings here.
Just like everything in the United States....For the People By the people....that concept is lost.... We gave up our power when we trusted others to decide for us... Power to decide these issues is not for a few, but ALL of us must have our opinions in decisions.... For the People By the people...does a rich politician or lawyer really give a hoot what we think.. 10% pot is a joke.... people!!!! Grow your own.... Don't vote because there is no one worth voting for...when no one votes Morgan & Morgan & the rest of the self serving #$&+#@+&.. Grow your own......
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See this was the trial so they can have us set everything up for them and make an ungodly amount of money including at least 50 Grand in the past couple years for me, listen lawmaker with the hair brain idea, if you think that is going to be voted upon and passed for a 10% cap, you're smoking that hard s*** is what you're smoking if you think anybody is going to pay for that as well, good luck! Not a soul is going to vote for it and not a soul is going to pay for it. The day that gets enacted, if I should say, is the day I grow my own medicine because we have fentanyl in our pharmacies that doesn't belong there and I'm just supposed to trust the DEA that leaves gigantic narcotic loopholes open in Florida and blames everybody else instead of taking responsibility for their job descriptions and if the one thing that saved my life from your goddamn medicines and narcotics, was marijuana! Lower that percentage cap down to 10%, you're not going to make one red cent for Florida first of all, nobody's going to listen to you anyway, you might as well close the stores now because they're not going to be able to stay open and keep the lights on if they're not selling anything. I know about anybody else but come knock my door in because I grow a couple of plants and then I can see how stupid you look when you do it. Is it still the Reagan days? Is it still a war on drugs? Well you're the moron that is proposing something that nobody is going to vote for whatsoever and you want to take the one thing away from people that have had hard drug addictions because of your loopholes in this state that killed countless people that I know and saved my life? Yeah I got a big ass problem with that. That will tell you to shove it. Well enough isn't well enough sometimes for a greedy ass government, couldn't leave well enough alone and we would all had a good thing but you got to have it all? Well you're not going to have anything at 10% THC. I'll bet you think that might work but others will never adhere to your stupidity and your hair brain idea. LMAO. So basically all the fake stuff comes into Florida and it was illegal and going to be outlawed so let's lower our standards to that? I can't explain to you how much common sense you do not have and how much respect you will not gain. I hope you get laughed out of politics
They are both ignorant and greedy. I hope that one day cannabis use will be perfectly legal in all 50 States. I am almost 61 and have yet to smoke a legal joint in my lifetime. That would be cool. But, I have lived in FL since 1978 and they can really just kiss my grits. We will just keep doing what we have always done, keep growing and smoking fine bud. I do still miss Gainesville Green. I have been told repeatedly, even by my doctors, that I qualify for a medical license. You know what I say? "License? I don't need no stinking license! Hey Florida Boyz, do ya'll need some lousy license?"