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Florida GOP Lawmaker Files Medical Marijuana Expansion Bill Allowing Patients To Qualify If They’ve Been Prescribed Opioids

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4 months ago

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A Republican Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana program in several ways, including allowing doctors to recommend cannabis to any patient with a condition for which opioids have been prescribed.

Legislation by Rep. Bill Partington (R), introduced Wednesday for the 2026 session, would also make medical marijuana registrations last two years instead of the current 30 weeks, and would waive patient registration fees for honorably discharged military veterans.

Under the proposal, doctors would also be able to recommend medical cannabis via telehealth without a physical exam, expanding the current policy that allows renewals, but not initial certifications, to be done remotely.

The measure also includes reciprocity provisions, requiring regulators to create a process to issue medical cannabis registration cards “within one business day to non-residents who are actively enrolled in a medical cannabis program in another jurisdiction recognized by the department.” It specifies that “a qualified visiting patient may engage in all behaviors permitted to a qualified patient.”

Another part of invoice specifies that physicians may be certified to receive more than three 10- to 70-day supply limits for patients to smoke medical marijuana. They may also issue a 35-day supply limit instead of the current six.

The measure is being introduced just days after Florida’s Democratic senator introduced legislation for the 2026 session. legalize home cultivation of marijuana for registered medical cannabis patients in the state

The proposal would allow qualified patients at least 21 years of age to plant up to six flowering plants for personal and therapeutic use. These patients can also buy seeds and clones from licensed pharmacies.

If passed, the bill would become law on July 1, 2026. A A similar proposal was introduced earlier this year by Sen. Joe Gruters (R).who is now the chairman of the Republican National Committee, but did not advance.

Gruters and Kim Rivers – CEO of Trulieve, the medical marijuana company that provided most of the funding for last year’s cannabis legalization ballot initiative.He also met with President Donald Trump ahead of the adoption of the constitutional amendmentas well as federal replanning and access to industrial banking.

Notably, Amendment 3 would not legalize the home cultivation of marijuana, a detail seized on by some critics of the industry-backed proposal.

The campaign behind that initiative, Smart & Safe Florida, said recently He collected more than a million signatures to place the new version of the legalization measure on the 2026 ballot—and therefore voluntarily declined to appeal a court case a judge allowed state officials to cancel about 200,000 applications largely on a procedural issue.

Smart & Safe filed another lawsuit in state Supreme Court last month, alleging that officials were acting. violating election laws, stalling the measure’s necessary review process without justification The state has since he agreed to proceed with the processing.

A In August, a federal judge ruled in a separate victory for the campaign—Giving “absolute relief” from the provisions of a law the governor signed to impose other severe restrictions on signature gathering.

In March, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate What they described as an “illegal diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds through a group with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The money was used to fight a popular ballot initiative the governor vehemently opposed that would have legalized adult marijuana.

The lawmakers’ letter alleges that a $10 million donation from a state legislative settlement was misappropriated to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, and sent $8.5 million to the anti-Amendment 3 campaign.

The governor said this in February The latest measure to legalize marijuana is in “big trouble” with the state Supreme CourtHe announced that it will be blocked from going before the voters next year.

“There are a lot of different views on marijuana,” DeSantis said. “It shouldn’t be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you have a legislative election. Bring back the candidates you think will be able to deliver what you think about it.”

“But when you put these things in the Constitution, and I think, I mean, the way they were written, there’s all kinds of things going on here. I think it’s going to have a lot of trouble getting passed by the Florida Supreme Court,” he said.

the last the initiative It was introduced to the secretary of state just months after initial versions failed in the November 2024 election, despite President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

The revised version of Smart & Safe Florida is expected to be successful in 2026. The campaign — which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry players in the last election cycle, notably from multi-state operator Trulieve — introduced some changes in the new version that address criticisms of opponents of the 2024 push.

For example, it now specifically states that “smoking and vaping marijuana in any public place is prohibited.” Another section states that the legislature should adopt rules governing the “time, place and public manner of consuming marijuana.”

Last year, the governor accurately predicted this The campaign’s 2024 cannabis measure would survive a legal challenge From the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he thinks this version will face a different outcome.

Although there is uncertainty about how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February It showed the overwhelming support of a bipartisan voter for reform— 67% of Florida voters support legalization, including 82% of Democrats, 66% of independents and 55% of Republicans.

—
It’s Marijuana Time tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelic and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters by pledging at least $25/month, you’ll get access to our interactive maps, charts, and audio calendars so you never miss a development.

Learn more about our marijuana bill tracking and become a Patreon supporter to gain access
—

In hindsight, a recent survey by a Trump-linked research firm found that Nearly 9 in 10 Florida voters say they should have the right to decide whether to legalize marijuana in the state

Meanwhile, pro-legalization GOP state lawmakers have just introduced a bill to change state law code that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.

Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said earlier this year Passing cannabis reform is a way for the Republican Party to get more votes from young people

Separately, there are medical marijuana officials in Florida actively expunging the records of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records. The policy is part of the sweeping budget legislation DeSantis signed into law earlier this year. The aforementioned provisions address the State Department of Health (DOH). void the records of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if convicted of drug offenses, or pleaded guilty or no contest.

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Nascent medical cannabis industry aims for growth

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8 hours ago

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April 18, 2026

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The medicinal cannabis sector is struggling to take root, and another specialist processing plant is set to close. But with current regulations and a new collective industry in mind, New Zealanders are promising to reduce their reliance on imported medicinals.

There was great excitement when medicinal cannabis was legalized and then regulated in 2020, with the hope of growing the domestic sector and serving patients here and abroad. However, since then, several companies have closed their doors, including Greenfern Industries, Cannasouth and, most recently, Helius Therapeutics.

The latter plans to close the East Tāmaki plant, affecting 65 workers. It is one of the few medicinal cannabis factories in the entire nation that has a specialized processing certificate called “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP).

Medical Cannabis Council executive director Sally King said that under current rules, most growers did not have such certification, and could only sell raw ingredients, not processed products such as more profitable cannabis capsules.

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Medical Marijuana Helps People Stop Using Opioids, Sleeping Aids And Other Prescription Drugs, Study Shows

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8 hours ago

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April 17, 2026

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Using medical marijuana appears to help reduce the use of other medications, including opioids, sleep aids and antidepressants, according to a new study of more than 3,500 patients. They experience far fewer negative side effects after switching from prescription drugs to cannabis.

The survey results show that across all medication categories, patients were able to reduce their use of other prescription drugs by an average of 84.5 percent after starting to use medical cannabis.

More than half of the patients (58.9 percent) completely stopped using other prescription drugs.

The study, conducted and published by medical cannabis and telehealth company Bloomwell, conducted an online survey of 3,528 patients in Germany last month.

“Through the use of medical cannabis, patients were able to reduce their use of other prescription medications by an average of 84.5% across all categories.”

93.4 percent of patients taking sleeping pills were able to cut their use in half after starting medical marijuana, and 75.5 percent were able to get off the medication completely.

For methylphenidate, an ADHD drug sold under the name Ritalin, 77.3 percent of medical marijuana patients stopped completely.

61 percent of patients who were previously dependent on opioids were able to stop completely with the help of medical marijuana.

Stopping the use of prescription drugs led to a significant reduction in drug-related side effects, with 60.7 percent reporting no longer experiencing them.

“These patient reports demonstrate that in many cases, in addition to the treatment of the actual symptoms, one of the key reasons for an individual therapeutic trial with medical cannabis is the absence or reduction of medication-related side effects,” the study concluded.

“60.7% of patients reported no longer experiencing medication-related side effects from using medical cannabis.”

There were positive side effects, however, with 67.8 percent saying medical cannabis helped them concentrate better, 61.9 percent said it helped them foster more social relationships, and 53.9 percent experienced fewer sick days from work.

“The primary reason for prescribing medicinal cannabis, in addition to treating symptoms, is to reduce or avoid the side effects of other medications,” Julian Wichmann, Bloomwell’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “For example, anyone who can completely stop opioids using medical cannabis has a good chance of going about their daily lives and working without side effects.”

“So we shouldn’t demand restrictions on access to medical cannabis, but rather make sure doctors are willing to do an individual therapeutic trial with medical cannabis, or at least recommend it and refer patients to their colleagues,” he said. “At the same time, our survey shows that we should finally discuss the great benefits of medical cannabis more openly, instead of only warning about the empirically unproven risks and discrediting the flower.”

This is not the first study to position medical cannabis as a safer alternative to opioids and other prescription drugs.

About One in three Americans who use CBD say they take it as an alternative or supplement to at least one medication—especially painful ones—according to a federally funded study published in February.

Also, a recent federally funded study, published by the American Medical Association (AMA), added further evidence Marijuana can be an effective substitute for opioids in the treatment of chronic pain.

Other studies published by the AMA have found legalizing marijuana for medical or recreational purposes “Significantly associated with reduced opioid use among patients diagnosed with cancer.”

A separate paper published in October also found that Legalizing medical marijuana “is associated with a significant reduction in opioid prescriptions.”

In August, however, Australian researchers published a study that shows this Marijuana can be an effective substitute for opioids in pain management treatment.

Another study published last year in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review found that daily drug users with chronic pain cannabis use was associated with greater likelihood of opioid cessation-Especially among men.

Other studies also found this legalizing medical cannabis appears to have significantly reduced payments to doctors from opioid manufacturers who specialize in pain, the authors found that “this reduction is a consequence of the availability of medical marijuana as a substitute” for prescription analgesics.

Other recent studies also showed a decline in fatal opioid overdoses in jurisdictions where marijuana was legalized for adults. That research found a ‘consistent negative relationship’ between legalization and fatal overdoses, effects more pronounced in states that legalized cannabis earlier in the opioid crisis. The authors estimated that legalizing recreational marijuana “is associated with a decrease of 3.5 deaths per 100,000 people.”

“Our findings suggest that expanding access to recreational marijuana could help combat the opioid epidemic,” the report said. “Prior studies overwhelmingly indicate that marijuana (especially for medical use) can reduce opioid prescriptions, and we see it successfully reducing overdose deaths as well.”

Another recently published report on prescription opioid use in Utah follows the state legalizing medical marijuana found that the availability of legal cannabis reduced opioid use among chronic pain patients and helped reduce prescription drug overdose deaths across the state. Overall, the study’s results indicated that “cannabis plays a significant role in pain management and reducing opioid use,” he said.

President Donald Trump said in December that marijuana can “make people feel a lot better.” and serves as a “substitute for addictive and potentially deadly opioid painkillers.” issued an executive order to federally regulate cannabis and promote access to CBD for therapeutic purposes. He clarified, however, that he personally has no interest in using marijuana himself.

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More employees mobilize with UFCW

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1 day ago

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April 17, 2026

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United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 360 has announced that more cannabis workers in New Jersey are joining its union family. Workers at Hamilton, New Jersey-based cannabis product manufacturer Sun Extractions chose to unionize with Local 360 for the better wages, benefits and benefits that come with a union contract.

Their decision adds to the growing momentum of UFCW Local 360’s Cannabis Workers Rising campaign, which has helped shape statewide labor standards and increase worker, consumer and community safety in New Jersey’s fledgling legal marijuana industry.

“New Jersey’s cannabis industry is stronger today thanks to this vote by Sun Extractions workers,” said Hugh Giordano, UFCW Local 360 Organizing Director. “Sustainable success for companies, workers and communities starts with fair treatment, strong standards and shared commitments. This is how jobs in the cannabis industry become long-term careers, and the future these workers work for.”

“It’s great that this vote is being announced before 4/20,” Giordano added. “4/20 used to be about the plant, but it has become a holiday that celebrates the entire cannabis community and recognizes the workers who grow, cut, pack, package, advise and distribute our cannabis products. Their hard work is why New Jersey’s medical and adult markets are safe and growing, and why sales are on target to exceed $2 billion this year.”

UFCW Local 360 President Sam Ferraino, Jr. emphasized that the Sun Extractions vote is part of a growing push to improve worker protections and benefits in the legal marijuana industry.

“We have more reasons than ever to celebrate 4/20 this year. We welcome the employees of Sun Extractions to the Local 360 family, seeing the hard work of our members move an entire industry forward, and speaking to other states, looking to New Jersey as a model of how to do it,” said Ferraino. “It’s further proof of what we always say: stronger unions mean stronger industries and communities. And that’s worth celebrating.”

For more than a decade, UFCW Local 360 has been at the forefront of efforts to ensure that New Jersey’s cannabis industry offers fair wages, strong job protections and real advancement opportunities. Thousands of cannabis workers, from cultivation to retail, have joined the union since the Cannabis Workers Rising campaign began.

From seed to sale, UFCW is the national leader in organizing workers in the cannabis industry and is the official cannabis union of the AFL-CIO. In the US, UFCW works with workers and business owners to achieve the shared goal of a regulated cannabis industry that provides family-supporting jobs and promotes social equity.

For more information:
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www.ufcw.org

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