Florida: patients' fight to authorize smoked cannabis

Cannabis can be administered in various ways. The most common method of administration is undoubtedly smoking, but there is no consensus on this when it comes to medical cannabis. This is not the view of patients in Florida, who have sued their state for banning smoked cannabis.

Smoking Cannabis in Florida: Legal, Illegal, Permitted

Medical cannabis, including smoked cannabis, was legalized in Florida in 2016 through a ballot initiative and as a constitutional amendment. For the legalization to take effect, however, it must be enacted into law by the legislature. However, lawmakers chose to ban smokable cannabis even though it had been approved by the voters. According to some patients and legal experts, this ban is unjustified and runs counter to the will of the people.

Two weeks after the law took effect in 2017, John Morgan, a medical cannabis activist, sued the state to have the ban lifted. He was joined by two terminally ill patients: Cathy Jordan, who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Diana Dodson, who has HIV. For Cathy, smoking cannabis helps relieve her cough and prevents excessive saliva production. For Diana, this method of administration is 50% more effective than vaporization.

In his complaint, John Morgan highlighted the fact that voters had voted in good conscience in favor of smoked cannabis. A local poll indeed supports his claim: out of 1,700 respondents, 65% said they were in favor of smoked medical cannabis. The three plaintiffs ultimately prevailed. The judge presiding over the case ruled that the ban on consuming cannabis in smokable form was invalid. unconstitutional. Following this ruling, the new governor, Ron DeSantis, issued an ultimatum to lawmakers to pass legislation on the matter by mid-March; otherwise, the ban on smoking medical cannabis would simply be lifted and the practice would become unregulated.

Lawmakers reacted very quickly and, at the start of the March legislative session, introduced a bill to lift the ban on smoked cannabis. This bill was approved by the Senate by a vote of 34 to 4 and by the House of Representatives by a vote of 101 to 11 within a very short period of time. It establishes certain restrictions, such as quantity and age limits. Patients are allowed to purchase 70 grams of cannabis every 35 days but may not possess more than 112 grams at home. Public consumption is prohibited, and terminally ill children are permitted to smoke cannabis with the approval of a pediatrician.

Should smoking cannabis be banned?

Any legalization of medical cannabis must address the issue of smoked cannabis. In many cases, this route of administration is contraindicated due to the toxicity of the smoke to the lungs and the difficulty of ensuring precise dosing. On the other hand, some studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that it is one of the most effective methods of administration. Two studies collected data on patient practices through the Releaf Ap app and found that many patients use smoked cannabis for self-treatment.

In France, where a medical cannabis trials must be implemented; it is understood that smoked cannabis will not be permitted for medical use. Other routes of administration, such as vaporized cannabis, capsules, or sublingual sprays, will be preferred. The ban on smoked cannabis is often accompanied by a ban on personal cultivation, which makes it difficult to monitor the method of administration. In the United States, smoked cannabis and personal cultivation are widely accepted in states where medical cannabis is legal but some states still ban it. It is the case of New York State where Senator Gustavo Rivera also introduced a bill to authorize this method of administration.