Lawmakers in the Florida House Health Professions & Programs Committee last week voted to advance a proposal to waive the annual $75 registration fee for medical cannabis patients who are veterans, Newsweek reports.
Introduced by Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the bill would also extend the certification period of medical cannabis patients for the program from one year to two years, so patients would need to get recertified for the program half as often. Additionally, while the $75 registration fee would be waived for veterans, they would still be required to pay for their certification for the program by a licensed doctor.
A previous version of the bill (HB 555) sought to add home cultivation to the program, expand the number of qualifying conditions, and allow patients with out-of-state medical cannabis IDs to participate in the program, but those provisions were removed before the committee considered the proposal.
HB 555 has a companion measure in the Senate — SB 552 — but the proposal has not been touched since it was introduced on March 4, the report said.
The Florida medical cannabis program has over 900,000 registered patients.
Last year, the state’s adult-use constitutional amendment could not reach the 60% threshold necessary to pass, falling short with just 56% voter support. Advocates are planning to make another attempt at legalization in 2026. Meanwhile, Florida officials recently fined the campaign $121,850, accusing the group of having violated state election laws.
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