ST. PETERSBURG, Fla — Florida is setting limits on how much marijuana you can consume a day, how much your doctor can prescribe you at one time, and how often they can do it.
The Florida Department of Health issued a new emergency rule which took effect Monday that applies to how much medical marijuana a person can have daily and how much can be dispensed to them over a 70-day period.
The emergency rule lists these limits according to different forms of marijuana. Here's how it breaks down:
Daily
- Edibles — 60 mg THC
- Inhalation (vape) — 350 mg THC
- Oral (capsules, tinctures) — 200 mg THC
- Sublingual (sublingual tinctures) — 190 mg THC
- Suppository — 195 mg THC
- Topical (creams) — 150 mg THC
- Smokable marijuana — 2.025 grams
70-day supply limit
- Edibles — 4,200 mg THC
- Inhalation (vape) — 24,500 mg THC
- Oral (capsules, tinctures) — 14,000 mg THC
- Sublingual (sublingual tinctures) — 13,300 mg THC
- Suppository — 13,650 mg THC
- Topical (creams) — 10,500 mg THC
- Smokable marijuana — N/A
For smokable marijuana, you can't exceed more than 2.5 ounces every 35 days, according to the emergency order. Smokable marijuana also must be dispensed by a medical marijuana treatment clinic (MMTC) as a usable whole flower, ground usable whole flower or prerolled marijuana cigarettes, the emergency order stated.
The emergency order does have an exception to allow up to a 4-ounce possession limit of smokable marijuana, but you do have to request that exception online.
Dr. David Berger with Wholistic Pediatrics and Family Care said his office is still unsure how these new rules will be regulated. He also said he is concerned for some of his patients who rely on medical marijuana for certain health issues.
“The challenge is some people need more than the state is allowing for," he said.
Moriah Barnhart, who works in the medical marijuana field in Florida, said her daughter was diagnosed with brain cancer when she was two years old and that medical marijuana has helped her daughter immensely.
Now, she works with others around the state who use it to help with different health issues.
“Many of the children I have worked with in the state of Florida use higher doses than are now allowed through that daily allotment," Barnhart said.
Legalizing marijuana in Florida has gained some traction in recent years, but the last time a proposed constitutional amendment to allow it to be recreational was struck down by the state Supreme Court and wasn't allowed on the 2022 ballot. That's because the language was deemed to be misleading.
Back in 2016, the Sunshine State Florida voters chose to legalize medical marijuana. And, in 2019, added smokable marijuana to that list.
There is the possibility a constitutional amendment could make it on the 2024 Florida ballot, but nothing has been approved or finalized.