Florida’s Ban on Smoking Medical Cannabis

January 30, 2018, Florida

A prevalent misconception about cannabis legalization is that it entails complete freedom of consuming the strain through every possible means. This is not how it works. In most states, where cannabis is legal in one form or the other, smoking it is not considered lawful.

Moreover, you can possess up to one or two ounces of marijuana in the legalized states. But smoking it at public spaces is classified as a punishable offence and its penalties vary in every legalized state.

However, there are few states very strict with their legalization laws as Florida. Even though medical cannabis is a legal commodity in the state, but it can’t be smoked at any cost. This ban is imposed by an amendment in the law made by the legislature. And cannabis advocates in the state have filed a petition against this amendment in the law which got approved by the voters.

According to the existing MMJ law of Florida, any cannabis product is only considered legal if it is consumed in its processed form. Therefore, marijuana flowers don’t classify as a legal MMJ product. The cannabis strains can only be consumed in the form of oil, tinctures and vaporizers.

Smoking Ban on Medical Cannabis – Image powered by Naturalsociety.com

An attorney from the central Florida, John Morgan, has played a major role in getting MMJ legalized in the state. Now, he is also moving forward to challenge the state’s decision to ban the smoking of marijuana.

Morgan is not drawing a parallel between smoking marijuana and cigarette-smoking because this logic is unsound. He is rather using a fair point to establish its argument. He is contesting to remove the ban on the smoking of cannabis for medical reasons.

One of the petitioners in the suit filed by Morgan, Cathy Jordan, is an ALS patient. She has been on the wheelchair for the last 20 years and can’t consume MMJ in oil or pill form. So, in order to get her medicinal dosage, she has to smoke. According to Cathy‘s husband, THC and other CBDs are very necessary to alleviate her suffering.

He censures the lawmakers of the state and says that they are masquerading as physicians, telling MMJ patients what they can do and can’t do.

Attorney from the central Florida, John Morgan – Image powered by Orlandoweekly.com

According to the state’s flawed argument, the senate has the command to ban the smoking. They can opt for it, without furnishing any rationale in the favor of the move. As per Morgan, majority of the voter were not aware of the fact that they were granting such authority to the state’s legislators. For most people, a common way to administrate medical marijuana is smoking and they voted in the favor of the legalization bill with this presumption.

According to experts, the Florida’s move to ban the smoking of marijuana should be seen in the backdrop of the recent full-scale legalization in California where it’s become very easy for users to obtain and publically consumer cannabis. Therefore, lawmakers in the state will remain cautious of the legalization provisions and will resist lifting the smoking ban.

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