Miami, Florida.- The governor of Florida, Ron deSantis, promulgated on Monday the law that repeals the prohibition that governed to smoke medical marijuana in the state, more than two years after the therapeutic use of the plant was approved in a popular consultation.
DeSantis signed SB 182, known as the medicinal use of marijuana, after last January had asked the state Congress to present a legislative solution to medical marijuana to allow smoking as a method of consumption for qualified patients.
The governor recalled that more than 70% of Florida voters approved medical marijuana in November 2016 and thanked lawmakers for their work to “ensure that the will of the voters is respected.”
In addition to signing bill SB 182, DeSantis filed a joint motion to withdraw an appeal to a court ruling that argued that prohibiting smoking medical marijuana violates a constitutional amendment, an appeal filed by his predecessor in office, also Republican and now federal senator Rick Scott.
SB 182 was approved last week in the lower house with 101 votes in favor and 11 against, after the state Senate also approved days before repealing the ban, which did not have the approval of DeSantis.
The medical use of marijuana in Florida came into force in January 2017 after a plebiscite approved in 2016 by more than 71% of voters, but then the government then headed by Scott implemented the rule prohibiting in the text the possibility of smoking it.
The ban merited a lawsuit and a judge agreed with the plaintiffs, so the state government filed an appeal in a district court in Tallahassee, the state capital, the same day that DeSantis took office.
The law now increases to 210 days the prescription of therapeutic marijuana that doctors can do, who could only issue a prescription for 70 days.
Currently, some 33 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that legalize marijuana in some form, including a dozen for recreational purposes. (EFEUSA)
