TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis made it official Monday, signing a law allowing medical marijuana to be smoked legally in Florida.
The move comes after the bill, SB 182 "Medical Use of Marijuana," easily passed through the Florida House and Senate. It is the first bill signed by the governor since taking office.
DeSantis also announced the state is dropping its previous appeal of court rulings that also would have ended the ban.
Voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, but lawmakers banned smokable forms of the plant in a bill signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2017. The state was sued over the issue, and a judge declared the ban unconstitutional. Scott, now a Republican U.S. senator, appealed the ruling.
Under the new law, smokable medical marijuana would not be available to anyone under 18 unless the patient is terminally ill and if two doctors approve. Among other limitations, it could not be smoked in public or at private businesses subject to a cigarette smoking ban.