Medical marijuana makes it to 2016 Florida ballot

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The decision to allow use of medical marijuana will be in voters’ hands after advocates garnered enough support Tuesday, according to election authorities.

Advocates vowed to see the issue on 2016 ballots months ago. They met their goal Tuesday after collecting more than 680,000 signatures.

Medical marijuana supporters’ victory comes after a 2014 amendment failed to pass. It was a slim margin in votes that set the use of medical marijuana back: 48 percent of Floridians voted against it.

But the issue will be back up for votes in November.

The amendment will not make recreational use of marijuana legal. The Florida Legislature has already passed a law that allows patients to receiver low-THC cannabis. The law, called Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, requires a patient to obtain a physician’s permission and was passed in 2014.

The new amendment, if passed, would allow legal medical marijuana use only after a Florida doctor determines a person has “debilitating medical conditions,” according to the Division of Elections. The Florida Department of Health would be tasked with regulating medical distribution centers and issuing ID cards to users.

The amendment would need support from 60 percent of voters to pass.

When five eligible Florida marijuana nurseries were named last month, the Southwest region submitted the greatest number of challenges to the Florida Department of Health. The process of awarding the licenses to the nurseries has since been delayed.