Florida Voters Will Get to Determine if Marijuana Should be Legal for Medical Purposes

On January 28, 2014 the Florida Supreme Court determined that Florida voters will have the opportunity to determine whether Marijuana should be legal for medicinal purposes.  In its opinion the Court determined that the proposed language of the constitutional amendment was not misleading, therefore allowing Florida citizens to vote on whether marijuana use should be legal for individuals that need it for treatment of their pain.

For the last several years many states have passed legislation that allows their citizens to be prescribed marijuana for medicinal purposes.  This major shift of thinking allows citizens, especially those suffering from horrendous pain, to use marijuana for medicinal purposes.  If sixty percent of the citizens agree that marijuana should be legal, then Florida would be the 21st state to decriminalize its use for medicinal purposes.

Currently, possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana is a misdemeanor under Florida law.  A conviction for mere possession of the drug currently results in a two year loss of your driver’s license.  Under the proposed new law if someone was lawfully prescribed the drug then possession would not be a criminal offense.