On election night in November 2016, Florida voters sent a strong message to their state government and to the federal government that the time for legalizing marijuana for qualified patients was well past. Over 70 percent of the voters agreed that Amendment Two, which called for the expansion of medical marijuana should become law, and that patients who qualify should have legal access to medical marijuana. Amendment Two provides that patients who have a qualifying ailment, as certified by a local doctor who has been qualified by the State Office of Medical Marijuana Use, can fill their medical marijuana prescriptions at one of the authorized medical marijuana treatment centers. The list of qualifying ailments include cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, or other debilitating medical conditions of the same kind or class.

In order for a person in Florida to gain access to legal medical marijuana, he or she must seek treatment from a qualified physician to ascertain if that patient meets the eligibility requirements under the new law. The qualified physician then must, by law, input the patient’s information and the order for medical marijuana into the Medical Marijuana Use Registry. At that point the patient or the patient’s legal representative needs to apply for a compassionate use registry identification card. Once approved, the patient will then be able to contact one of the state licensed medical marijuana treatment centers to fill their medical marijuana prescription.