Florida Government Approves Medical Marijuana Legislation

On Friday, the Florida State Senate passed a bill that will legalize the use of low-THC marijuana to treat patients with epilepsy and cancer. Governor Rick Scott is expected to sign the bill into law soon.

The Senate voted 30-9 in favor of the bill and a day earlier the House voted 111-7 in favor as well. The overwhelming support is noteworthy because most of the political representatives in Florida are republican. The lawmakers decided to revamp a constitutional amendment that will be put on Florida's November ballot. The amendment would allow doctors to prescribe medical marijuana to patients with severe disabilities.

Advocates of the bill pushed the legalization of the "Charlotte's Web" strain of marijuana that showed compelling success for various patients with epilepsy in Colorado. The strain was named after Charlotte Figi, a native of Colorado Springs, who suffers from Dravet syndrome - a rare and catastrophic form of intractable epilepsy that begins in infancy.

The "Charlotte's Web" strain of marijuana is high in cannabidiol (CBD) and low in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is effective in reducing the seizures suffered from Dravet syndrome and reduces the reliance on pharmaceutical medications. Over 100 families have moved to Colorado in hopes of obtaining this strain of marijuana to help save their children's lives.

Now, families can soon seek refuge in Florida as well. The bill does not allow legalize marijuana in smoking form. The Charlotte's Web strain is converted into an oil and consumed by the patient orally. Under strict conditions, the bill will authorize five dispensaries across the state to cultivate the strain.

"I'm a parent and a grandparent. I want to make sure my children, my grandchildren, have the access to the health care they want," said Governor Scott in this CBS Miami News article.

The governor plans to vote against the constitutional amendment that will be on the November ballot because it will allow patients to obtain medical marijuana in various forms. He and other legislators want to help those in need without making marijuana ubiquitously available, as it is in Colorado and Washington.

Despite that, this is a step in the right direction to help treat the 125,000-plus epilepsy patients in Florida. You can read more about the passing of the medical marijuana bill in this Reuters article.