Gov. Signs Florida Law Allowing Revocation of Medical Cannabis Cards for Drug Crimes  

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last week signed a bill allowing the revocation of state-issued medical cannabis cards for individuals convicted of drug crimes. SB 2514 allows the state Department of Health to “immediately suspend the registration of a qualified patient charged with a violation” of the state’s Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act “until final disposition of the alleged offense.”   

The new law requires the agency to revoke the registration of the qualified medical cannabis patients and caregivers if the patient or caregiver is convicted of, or pled guilty or no contest to, regardless of adjudication, a violation of the state’s drug control law “if such violation was for trafficking in, the sale, manufacture, or delivery of, or possession with intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver a controlled substance.”  

The law covers guilty verdicts or pleas for the purchase or sale of 20 grams of less of cannabis, including Delta-6, -8, -9, and -10 and synthetic cannabinoids. It excludes “low-THC cannabis,” hemp, and industrial hemp. It also covers the purchase or sale of more than 10 grams of “any substance named or described in” the legislation. 

Patients would be able to reapply to the medical cannabis program after they complete their sentence, provided they include a notarized letter with their new application.