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Florida moving to allow smokable medical marijuana

Posted at 2:46 PM, Feb 12, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-12 14:46:41-05

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - The Florida Legislature is getting closer to meeting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis' demand that the state repeal a ban on smokable medical marijuana.

The House Health and Human Services Committee approved a bill on a 14-2 vote Tuesday that would allow doctors to prescribe smokable marijuana. The bill restricts its use to pre-rolled, filtered marijuana cigarettes.

Doctors would also have to report other forms of marijuana that patients tried and state that the benefits of smoking outweigh the risks. Smokable marijuana couldn't be prescribed to anyone under 18.

Voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, but lawmakers banned smokable forms when they implemented the amendment. A judge declared the ban unconstitutional. Then-Gov. Rick Scott appealed the ruling.

DeSantis said he wants lawmakers to repeal the ban, otherwise he'll drop the state's appeal.

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