House Moves Forward on Medical Marijuana

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By DARA KAM
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

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THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 28, 2017……… Pledging that it is only a start, a Florida House panel gave a thumbs-up Tuesday to a medical-marijuana proposal castigated by supporters of a constitutional amendment that legalized cannabis for a broad swath of patients with debilitating conditions.

The House Health Quality Subcommittee overwhelmingly approved the measure (HB 1397), sponsored by House Majority Leader Ray Rodrigues, with just one “no” vote after nearly three hours of public testimony.

“I believe this is a measured approach,” Rodrigues, R-Estero said, “but I will caution you that it is not the final product.”

The Rodrigues proposal would prohibit smoking of cannabis products, as well as edibles, and would ban all but terminally ill patients from using vaporizers to consume medical marijuana, one of the biggest objections to the bill raised by supporters of the constitutional amendment.