Jacob Ogles
As Florida voters await word on whether they’ll have a chance to legalize recreational marijuana this November, they won’t have to worry about a bill blunting the type of product available.
An effort to cap THC levels in marijuana in a potential recreational market is dead this Legislative Session. The Senate Health Policy Committee bill (SB 7050) emerged earlier this month in the upper chamber. The effort to cap delta-9 caps had moved out of its first stop on a 7-3 vote.
But it never found space on a Senate Fiscal Policy agenda. That committee’s final meeting is Tuesday morning.
Just as that committee declined to consider a controversial defamation bill, the THC caps appear to have burned out before advancing to the Senate floor.
A companion bill (HB 1269) had made it through all committee stops in the House, but with similar language, not identical.
Since the Senate bill made it through at least one committee stop in the Senate, the upper chamber technically could take up the House bill for consideration, but only after the legislation passes off the floor of the lower chamber.
But Senate President Kathleen Passidomo has signaled she would want a Senate committee vetting any House bills taken up. There are new just days left in the 60-day Session, and no more Senate committee meetings are expected that could hear the bill.
House sponsor Rep. Ralph Massullo, a Lecanto Republican, confirmed to POLITICO that the bill is dead this year. “I believe the product we crafted was sound,” he told the outlet.
The bill was considered as the Florida Supreme Court considers whether an Adult Personal Use of Marijuana constitutional amendment will appear on the ballot in the fall. Safe & Sound Florida has collected enough signatures to qualify. While Attorney General Ashley Moody has argued the measure complies with all requirements of state law, Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he believes the high court will approve the ballot language.
Supporters of the referendum were pleased by the development.
“We are pleased the voters may have an opportunity to vote on adult use prior to potential implementation language being decided on,” said Steve Vancore, spokesperson for Trulieve, the state’s leading provider of medical cannabis.
Massullo’s legislation would have put caps on THC levels in the event voters approve marijuana for personal use. His bill would have said marijuana in smokable form could have a THC potency no greater than 30%. The legislation would prohibit multiserving edibles from containing more than 200 milligrams of THC and a single-serving edible from containing more than 10 mg.
Any other products could not have a THC potency of greater than 60%.
The House bill also would have removed a sunset provision in current law that repeals the current medical marijuana program law effective six months after a marijuana or cannabis constitutional amendment is adopted.
13 comments
Dont Say FLA
February 27, 2024 at 8:53 am
In other words, one and/or two of two things happened
1- Lobbyist didn’t cough up enough yacht rides and private jet rides to get the votes they wanted
and/or
2- Florida’s G0P politicians didn’t get their side hustles figured out in time for legislating THC this year.
Brian Kelly
February 27, 2024 at 3:23 pm
Legalize federally now. What’s legal to possess and consume in over half of the populated areas of The United States should not make you a criminal in states still being governed by woefully ignorant prohibitionist politicians.
Cannabis consumers in all states deserve and demand equal rights and protections under our laws that are currently afforded to the drinkers of far more dangerous and deadly, yet perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised and even glorified as an All-American pastime, alcohol.
Plain and simple!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now! `
It’s time for us, the majority of The People to take back control of our national cannabis policy. By voting OUT of office any and all politicians who very publicly and vocally admit to having an anti-cannabis, prohibitionist agenda! Time to vote’em all OUT of office. Period. Plain and simple.
Politicians who continue to demonize Cannabis, Corrupt Law Enforcement Officials who prefer to ruin peoples lives over Cannabis possession rather than solve real crimes who fund their departments toys and salaries with monies acquired through cannabis home raids, seizures and forfeitures, and so-called “Addiction Specialists” who make their income off of the judicial misfortunes of our citizens who choose cannabis, – Your actions go against The Will of The People and Your Days In Office Are Numbered! Find new careers before you don’t have one.
The People have spoken! Get on-board with Cannabis Legalization Nationwide, or be left behind and find new careers. Your choice.
“Cannabis is 114 times safer than drinking alcohol”
“Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say”
“Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say New study: We should stop fighting Cannabis legalization and focus on alcohol and tobacco instead By Christopher Ingraham February 23
Compared with other recreational drugs — including alcohol — Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought. And researchers may be systematically underestimating risks associated with alcohol use.
Those are the top-line findings of recent research published in the journal Scientific Reports, a subsidiary of Nature. Researchers sought to quantify the risk of death associated with the use of a variety of commonly used substances. They found that at the level of individual use, alcohol was the deadliest substance, followed by heroin and cocaine.”
-Washington Post
“The report discovered that Cannabis is 114 times less deadly than alcohol. Researchers were able to determine this by comparing the lethal doses with the amount of typical use. Through this approach, Cannabis had the lowest mortality risk to users out of all the drugs they studied. In fact—because the numbers were crossed with typical daily use—Cannabis is the only drug that tested as “low risk.”
-Complex
Brian Kelly
February 27, 2024 at 3:24 pm
Fear of Cannabis Legalization Nationwide is unfounded. Not based on any science or fact whatsoever. So please prohibitionists, we beg you to give your scare tactics, “Conspiracy Theories” and “Doomsday Scenarios” over the inevitable Legalization of Cannabis Nationwide a rest. Nobody is buying them anymore these days. Okay?
Furthermore, if all prohibitionists get when they look into that nice, big and shiny crystal ball of theirs, while wondering about the future of cannabis legalization, is horror, doom, and despair, well then I suggest they return that thing as quickly as possible and reclaim the money they shelled out for it, since it’s obviously defective.
The prohibition of cannabis has not decreased the supply nor the demand for cannabis at all. Not one single iota, and it never will. Just a huge and complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for choosing a natural, non-toxic, relatively benign plant proven to be much safer than alcohol.
If prohibitionists are going to take it upon themselves to worry about “saving us all” from ourselves, then they need to start with the drug that causes more death and destruction than every other drug in the world COMBINED, which is alcohol!
Why do prohibitionists feel the continued need to vilify and demonize cannabis when they could more wisely focus their efforts on a real, proven killer, alcohol, which again causes more destruction, violence, and death than all other drugs, COMBINED?
Prohibitionists really should get their priorities straight and/or practice a little live and let live. They’ll live longer, happier, and healthier, with a lot less stress if they refrain from being bent on trying to control others through Draconian Cannabis Laws.
Brian Kelly
February 27, 2024 at 3:24 pm
The “War on Cannabis” has been a complete and utter failure. It is the largest component of the broader yet equally unsuccessful “War on Drugs” that has cost our country over a trillion dollars.
Instead of The United States wasting Billions upon Billions more of our yearly tax dollars fighting a never ending “War on Cannabis”, lets generate Billions of dollars, and improve the deficit instead. Especially now, due to Covid-19. It’s a no brainer.
The Prohibition of Cannabis has also ruined the lives of many of our loved ones. In numbers greater than any other nation, our loved ones are being sent to jail and are being given permanent criminal records. Especially, if they happen to be of the “wrong” skin color or they happen to be from the “wrong” neighborhood. Which ruin their chances of employment for the rest of their lives, and for what reason?
Cannabis is much safer to consume than alcohol. Yet do we lock people up for choosing to drink?
Let’s end this hypocrisy now!
The government should never attempt to legislate morality by creating victim-less cannabis “crimes” because it simply does not work and costs the taxpayers a fortune.
Cannabis Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that’s approaching much sooner than prohibitionists think and there is nothing they can do to stop it!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now! Support Each and Every Cannabis Legalization Initiative!
KathrynA
February 27, 2024 at 9:40 am
Totally agree with the above comment. The one bill I thought made some sense didn’t make it. Why am I not surprised? Let’s continue to let people drive while stoned and continuing the “dumbing down” of Floridians.
FLPatriot
February 27, 2024 at 12:19 pm
Go drink your wine
YOUR MOM
February 27, 2024 at 12:34 pm
MASSIVE L KATHRYN… or should we say KAREN!
Brian Kelly
February 27, 2024 at 3:20 pm
Legalizing Cannabis will not create a massive influx of marijuana impaired drivers on our roads.
It will not create an influx of professionals (doctors, pilots, bus drivers, etc..) under the influence on the job either.
This is a prohibitionist propaganda scare tactic.
Truth: Responsible drivers don’t drive while impaired on any substance period!
Irresponsible drivers are already on our roads, and they will drive while impaired regardless of their drug of choice’s legality.
Therefore, legalizing cannabis will have little impact on the amount of marijuana impaired drivers on our roads.
The same thing applies to people being under the influence of cannabis on the job.
Responsible people do not go to work impaired, period. Regardless of their drug of choice’s legality.
Brian Kelly
February 27, 2024 at 3:21 pm
Contrary to what prohibitionists are so desperately trying to get the public to believe wholeheartedly and without question, legalizing cannabis IS NOT adding anything new into our society that wasn’t always there and widely available already.
Therefore cannabis legalization does not lead to some massive influx of new cannabis consumers. The very same people who have been consuming cannabis during it’s prohibition are for the most part the very same ones who will be consuming cannabis when it’s legal.
The prohibition of cannabis has never prevented cannabis’s widespread availability nor anyone from consuming cannabis that truly desires to do so.
Cannabis has been ingrained within our society since the days of our founding fathers and part of human culture since biblical times, for thousands of years.
So, since cannabis has always been with us and humans already have thousands upon thousands of years worth of experience with cannabis, what great calamities and “Doomsday Scenarios” do prohibitionists really think will happen now due to current legalization efforts that have never ever happened before in all human history?
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
ME: Grown Here You: Flown Here
February 27, 2024 at 12:34 pm
Right but the pharma scripts swigged down with a vodka tonic is just fine… Go look at a study or two and you’ll realize that MJ doesn’t contribute to more traffic fatalities or accidents… period. PS Cannabis was made illegal under the same laws as Alcohol. Time to end prohibition not further scrutinize it. Anyway boomer, have a good day!
Pustulio
February 27, 2024 at 4:04 pm
Massullo’s legislation would have put caps on THC levels in the event voters approve marijuana for personal use. His bill would have said marijuana in smokable form could have a THC potency no greater than 30%.
Negative. This bill would have capped plant THC potency to 10% meaning patients would have to smoke more flower to get the same high.
Z-Terps
February 27, 2024 at 7:58 pm
Negative. The wording in that bill was amended weeks ago to 30% in an amendment introduced and adopted by the house Committee without objection on 1/31. Article is correct.
https://www.myfloridahouse.gov/Sections/Bills/billsdetail.aspx?BillId=79983
Bill Pollard
February 27, 2024 at 7:48 pm
The whole legislative fight to eliminate marijuana seems like a Cheech and Chong movie.
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