Medical Cannabis in Florida

Program overview

Florida operates the Medical Marijuana Use Registry, administered by Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), Florida Department of Health.

How Florida’s law developed

Florida's program arrived in two stages, and the gap between them explains much of how it works today. The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 authorised only low-THC preparations for a narrow group of patients, and take-up was minimal. Amendment 2 followed in November 2016, passing with about 71% of the vote after an earlier version had fallen just short of the 60% threshold required for a Florida constitutional amendment in 2014. Implementing legislation in 2017 built the Medical Marijuana Use Registry and vested administration in the Office of Medical Marijuana Use. Florida's structure is notable for its vertically integrated licensees, who must cultivate, process and dispense under a single licence, and for the requirement that patients be certified by a physician specifically qualified under the state program.

Neighboring states

• Alabama
• Georgia

Official Florida resources

Questions people in Florida ask

Why do Florida dispensaries all seem to grow their own product?

Florida licences are vertically integrated: a licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Center must cultivate, process and dispense under a single licence. That structure is written into Florida's implementing law and is why the state has comparatively few operators relative to its patient population.