Lighting Up Florida’s Medical Marijuana Industry

On November 8, 2016, Florida voters approved the use of Medical Marijuana in a constitutional ballot initiative called Amendment 2. This Amendment approved the use of Medical Marijuana in treatment for patients who suffer from specific debilitating medical conditions. These debilitating medical conditions include, but, are not limited to, cancer, AIDS, PTSD, glaucoma, Parkinson’s Disease, epilepsy, and Crohn’s disease. Physicians may also prescribe Medical Marijuana for “other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class” as those mentioned above and “for which a physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient.” Those looking to do business in the medical marijuana industry must proceed with some caution because even with the passage of Amendment 2 marijuana is still considered a controlled substance consumption of which is illegal under federal law creating several barriers to entry into the industry.