# 2016 Florida Amendment 2

Elections in Florida :
Federal government
Presidential elections
1848
1852
1856
1860
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1956
1960
1964
1968
1972
1976
1980
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Presidential primaries
Democratic
2000
2004
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
Republican
2008
2012
2016
2020
2024
U.S. Senate elections
1845
1848
1851
1855
1857
1868
1875
1879
1881
1885
1887
1890
1891
1893 sp
1897
1899
1899 sp
1903
1905 sp
1908
1909 sp
1911
1914
1916
1920
1922
1926
1928
1932
1934
1936 sp
1938
1940
1944
1946
1950
1952
1956
1958
1962
1964
1968
1970
1974
1976
1980
1982
1986
1988
1992
1994
1998
2000
2004
2006
2010
2012
2016
2018
2022
2024
2026 sp
2028
U.S. House of Representatives elections
1845
AL sp
1846
1848
1850
1852
1854
1856
1858
1860
1865
1868
1870
1872
1874
1876
1878
1880
1882
1884
1886
1888
1890
1892
1894
1896
1898
1900
1902
1904
1906
1908
1910
1912
1914
1916
1918
1920
1922
1924
1926
1928
1930
1932
1934
1936
1938
1940
1942
1944
1946
1948
1950
1952
1954
1955
6th sp
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1989
18th sp
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001
1st sp
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
19th sp
2012
2014
13th sp
19th sp
2016
2018
2020
2022
20th sp
2024
2025
1st sp
6th sp
C.S. House of Representatives elections
1861
1863
1st sp :
State government
General elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2020
2022
2026
Gubernatorial elections
1845
1848
1852
1856
1860
1865
1868
1872
1876
1880
1884
1888
1892
1896
1900
1904
1908
1912
1916
1920
1924
1928
1932
1936
1940
1944
1948
1952
1954 sp
1956
1960
1964
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Attorney General elections
1966
1970
1986
1990
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Chief Financial Officer elections
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Agriculture Commissioner elections
1994
1998
2002
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022
2026
Senate elections
2018
2020
2022
2024
2026
House of Representatives elections
2012
2014
2016
2018
2020
2022
2024
Ballot measures
1998 Florida Amendment 8
2008 Florida Amendment 2
2014 Florida Amendment 2
2016 Florida Amendment 1
2016 Florida Amendment 2
2018 Florida Amendment 4
2020 Florida Amendment 1
2020 Florida Amendment 2
2020 Florida Amendment 3
2020 Florida Amendment 4
2020 Florida Amendment 5
2022 Florida Amendment 1
2022 Florida Amendment 2
2022 Florida Amendment 3
2024 Florida Amendment 3
2024 Florida Amendment 4 :
Jacksonville
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023
Sheriff elections
2022 sp :
Miami
Mayoral elections
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021
2025 :
Miami-Dade County
Mayoral elections
1996
2008
2011 (recall)
2011 sp
2012
2016
2020
2024 :
Orlando
Mayoral elections
1984
1988
1992
1996
2000
2003 sp
2004
2008
2012
2015
2019
2023 :
St. Petersburg
Mayoral elections
2001
2005
2009
2013
2017
2021 :
Tallahassee
Mayoral elections
1997
2003 sp
2006
2010
2014
2018
2022 :
Tampa
Mayoral elections
2003
2007
2011
2015
2019
2023 :
Other localities
Fort Lauderdale
1994
1997
2000
2003
2006
2009
2012
2015
2018
2020
Gainesville
2016
2019
2022
Hialeah
2011
Miami Beach
2011
2013
2015
North Miami
2013
2014 sp
2017
2021
Orange County
2010
2022
Pensacola
2022 :
Government :
vte :
The Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2, was approved by voters in the Tuesday, November 8, 2016, general election in the State of Florida. The bill required a super-majority vote to pass, with at least 60% of voters voting for support of a state constitutional amendment. Florida already had a medical marijuana law in place, but only for those who are terminally ill and with less than a year left to live. The goal of Amendment 2 is to alleviate those suffering from these medical conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, positive status for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualified medical condition or other debilitating medical conditions comparable to those listed. Under Amendment 2, the medical marijuana will be given to the patient if the physician believes that the medical use of marijuana would likely outweigh the potential health risks for a patient. Smoking the medication was not allowed under a statute passed by the Florida State Legislature, however this ban was struck down by Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers on May 25, 2018.
In 2016, measures to legalize recreational marijuana appeared on the ballot in five states: California, Nevada, Arizona, Maine, and Massachusetts. Four more states, including Florida, Arkansas, North Dakota and Montana, considered initiatives to legalize medical marijuana, a move that some say is a first-step towards full legalization.

## Implementation

The spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Health, Mara Gambineri, stated that the agency would follow the will of the voters when the constitutional amendment went into effect January 3, 2017. Before January 3, 2017, the medical marijuana available to patients contained low THC. Cannabis of any THC content was available to newly qualified patients after July 1, 2017.
According to a June 15, 2017, article reported by the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), members of the Florida House and Senate have approved legislation to implement Amendment 2 on the final day of a special legislative session and Governor Rick Scott signed the bill into law. The measure prohibits patients from inhaling herbal preparations of cannabis, among other restrictions that proponents say violate the initiative's original intent. Orlando attorney John Morgan, and chairman for United For Care, a non-profit group for the legalization of medical marijuana, has said that he intends to sue the state over the proposed changes.
Under the law, patients diagnosed with cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, or who suffer from chronic pain related to any of these diseases are eligible to receive a 70-day supply of cannabis-infused oils or edible products only. On June 24, the law became effective and it includes eliminating the initial 90-day waiting period for the use of medical marijuana and added chronic nonmalignant pain as a qualifying condition.
Some Florida cities, including Boca Raton, Coral Gables, Delray Beach, the Village of Golf and Homestead, have banned medical marijuana dispensaries since it is illegal under federal law.

## Criticisms of implementation

Cannabis activists and critics are concerned that the new law is not being implemented as outlined in Amendment 2, and not following the will of the voters who passed the constitutional amendment. Critics have expressed objections that Florida state regulators in Tallahassee, and at the Florida Department of Health who oversee the rules-making process for the use, distribution, licensing assignment for dispensaries and cultivators of cannabis, are playing favor to a limited number of medical marijuana dispensaries and cultivators who have ties to Florida legislators. The applicants were ranked in a secretive process by a board appointed directly by Governor Rick Scott. Initial analysis of various applications shows a strong bias in some regions towards the winners, despite them not being qualified in cannabis cultivation, science, medicine or growing plants meant for human consumption.
Critics assert that barriers to entry into the market would be constructed to keep out small businesses, people of color, woman ownership, and only allow wealthy white males that are politically connected to participate. Critics and cannabis activists suggest this would disrupt the medical cannabis program and not allow a free market to thrive where diversity is allowed, advocates can educate the public, small businesses can participate, and winners and losers are decided by the free market system.
Another concern from advocates is a vertical market that will be created that limits the numbers of dispensaries and cultivators of cannabis within the state leading to prices being potentially too high for many cannabis patients in Florida. According to Ben Pollara, campaign chairman of the political committee that backed the constitutional amendment stated that "it not only maintains, but strengthens the cartel system of licensed marijuana growers in Florida and that prices will be high, quality will be low, choices will be few, and patients will be driven to the black market".
On July 9, 2019, Florida's First District Court of Appeal issued a major ruling declaring the mandatory vertical integration and license caps unconstitutional.

## Legal actions

Smoking ban
Florida Legislature passed, and Governor Rick Scott signed, a provision that defines "medical use" to exclude "possession, use or administration of marijuana in a form for smoking." Arguing that Florida state legislators violated voters' intent when they prohibited smoking for the medical use of marijuana, John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who spearheaded and financed the successful campaign to make medical access to cannabis a constitutional right, filed a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court on July 6, 2017, asking the court to declare the law implementing the 2016 constitutional amendment unenforceable.
   "Inhalation is a medically effective and efficient way to deliver Tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], and other cannabinoids, to the bloodstream. By redefining the constitutionally defined term 'medical use' to exclude smoking, the Legislature substitutes its medical judgment for that of 'a licensed Florida physician' and is in direct conflict with the specifically articulated Constitutional process," the lawsuit states.
Morgan's lawsuit claimed that provision "redefined and narrowed the definition of marijuana in direct conflict" with the Constitution.
Deputy Solicitor General Denise Harle argues that "the plain language of the Amendment refutes" Morgan's case. Mills responded to Harle that the amendment itself "places no limitation on the use of marijuana in a form for smoking," calling the ban a "direct irreconcilable conflict." Saying that the amendment doesn't overtly address smoking "misses the point," he added that banning it "takes discretion out of the hands of patients and physicians."
Circuit Judge Karen Gievers scheduled a January 25, 2018, hearing on the state's motion to dismiss. On January 26, 2018, the judge refused to grant the state's motion to dismiss the case and will allow the case to proceed.
   "The pending complaint contains sufficient allegations to meet the standing and active case or controversy criteria for the court to have jurisdiction over this declaratory judgment action," Gievers wrote in the court order.
The judge set a one-day trial for May 16, 2018, in the legal effort to overturn the state's ban on smoking medical marijuana.
On May 25, 2018, Judge Karen Gievers ruled the state law banning patients from smoking medical marijuana unconstitutional. Gievers found that the constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2016 which broadly legalized medical marijuana gives eligible patients the right to smoke the medical marijuana in private.
The law banning smoking of medical marijuana "is invalid because it conflicts with the Florida Constitution and prohibits a use of medical marijuana that is permitted by the amendment: smoking in private," Gievers wrote in a 22-page order.
Gievers also found that the language in the amendment "recognizes there is no right to smoke in public places, thereby implicitly recognizing the appropriateness of using smokable medical marijuana in private places consistent with the amendment."
The Florida Department of Health said the state is expected to appeal, which likely would place Gievers' order legalizing the smoking of medical marijuana on temporary hold.
On June 5, 2018, the judge lifted the ban on smoking cannabis in Florida, giving the state until June 11, 2018, to put a plan together. Gievers said the state's ban caused irreparable harm to patients who could not get the treatment recommended for them.
   "The automatic stay will prolong the period that Ms. Jordan, Ms. Dodson and all Floridians like them with debilitating medical conditions who would benefit from smokable medical marijuana are unable to receive the best available treatment for them," the motion said.
   "Without any corresponding benefit to the defendants (the Department of Health), the automatic stay increases the pain and suffering of the individual plaintiffs and denies them access to a constitutionally permitted medical treatment. This is the irreparable harm that plaintiffs will suffer if the automatic stay is permitted to remain in effect."
Florida House ends ban on smoking medical marijuana
Without much debate and two days before Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ deadline on March 15, 2019, the bill to repeal a ban on smoking medical marijuana finally rolled onto the governor’s desk.
The Florida House affirmed the right to smoke medical marijuana March 13, 2019, approving the Senate bill to include “smoking” to the language in the medical marijuana constitutional amendment. Instead of submitting House Bill 7015, Rep. Ray Rodrigues substituted it with Senate Bill (SB)182, which the Senate had approved last week in a 34–4 vote.
SB 182, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Brandes of St. Petersburg, allows a 35-day supply of marijuana in “a form for smoking” not to exceed 2.5 ounces or, for a physician recommendation of up to 4 ounces.
The primary difference between HB 7015 and SB 182 is the House bill allowed only pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes while the Senate version would require marijuana operators to sell at least one type of pre-rolled marijuana cigarette and other whole-flower products, and allows patients to buy smoking-related equipment at retail outlets, such as smoke shops.
Senate Bill 182 bans smoking in public or at private businesses subject to the state's cigarette smoking ban.
Medical marijuana flower buds and pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes could be available in licensed dispensaries by mid-summer of 2019 when DeSantis, who has affirmed his position against the smoking ban stating that he will sign the bill.
“I am very confident that the governor will sign it,” House Speaker José R. Oliva stated.
Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB-182 into law on March 18, 2019, officially legalizing smokable medical marijuana. SB-182, Medical Use of Marijuana act, redefines the term "medical use" to include the possession, use and administration of marijuana in a form for smoking.

### Unconstitutional restrictions on licensing

A separate lawsuit was filed in December 2017 by Florigrown LLC alleging that the mandatory vertical licensing scheme required by the “implementing” statute passed by the legislature is unconstitutional.
In late 2018, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Charles Dodson entered a temporary injunction barring the state from continuing to implement the statute based on finding that it unconstitutionally limited the provisions of the Amendment by mandating vertical integration and severely limiting the number of licenses available to participate in the medical marijuana industry. Various commentators labeled the select few businesses that were able to obtain one of the coveted licenses a “cartel.” The successful legal challenge was led by lawyers Ari H. Gerstin Archived 2019-07-16 at the Wayback Machine and Jonathan S. Robbins of Akerman LLP.
On July 9, 2019, Florida's First District Court of Appeal affirmed the circuit court's finding of unconstitutionality and barred the state from continuing to implement the unconstitutional statute.
In an interview, Florigrown CEO Adam Elend called the ruling a “game-changer.”
   “It drops a bomb on the current licensing scheme. It’s just changing the whole regime,” Elend said. “People are not getting medicine. The dispensaries are out of stock all the time. The products are limited, and the prices are high. That’s what happens in an oligopoly and that’s what we have.”

## Key differences from 2014 proposal

The initiative improved on four key issues from the 2014 proposal.
* Doctors are required to receive parental consent from minors: "In order for a physician certification to be issued to a minor, a parent or legal guardian of the minor must consent in writing."
* The chronic illness that allows a patient to receive the medical marijuana is better spelled out, as stating "same kind or class as or comparable to" when defining specific illnesses.
* This bill does not repeal any law that defends "negligence or professional malpractice on the part of a qualified patient, caregiver, physician, MMTC (Medical Marijuana Treatment Center), or its agents or employees."
* Additional clauses were added to close the "drug-dealer loophole" in that MMTC's may be limited to how many qualified patients they treat a year.

## Financial backers

Funding for Amendment 2 came from various political action committees, including a $1 million contribution came from Washington, D.C.–based, pro-marijuana legalization New Approach PAC. Additional funds were primarily backed by The People for Medical Marijuana PAC, also known as United for Care, who is the bill's sponsor. As of November 2016, they have provided over $12.5 million towards the amendment. The United for Care committee is chaired by Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, who has largely bankrolled the Florida medical marijuana effort by contributing at least $6.5 million towards the initiative, and $326,438 in November, 2016.

## Opposition

Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon Adelson donated $500,000 towards the effort to thwart the bill, including a contribution of $1 million to the Drug-Free Florida Committee, who also fought the initiative. Adelson, whose son died of a drug overdose, committed $5.5 million to help defeat the medical marijuana Amendment 2 in 2014.
Carol Jenkins Barnett, daughter of George W. Jenkins, founder of Publix Super Markets, also gave $800,000 to the Drug-Free Florida Committee.
Former Florida Supreme Court justices rallied together to produce an Op-Ed for the Tampa Bay Times in opposition to the new initiative, stating, "medical marijuana will be too easy for doctors to prescribe", and, "it'd be a wide open door for marijuana regardless of its need as a compassionate, alternative treatment option." Additionally, their letter contends that marijuana will be sold at "pot shops" and that there would be more pot shops than 7-11's, McDonald's, and Starbucks combined. Lastly, they stated that there's a right to privacy clause in the bill that would enable criminals to discreetly create "a new pipeline for pot [to get] into high schools throughout Florida."
Leaders of the City of Apopka voted unanimously to ban medical marijuana until May 31, 2017. Charlotte County has already placed a 9-month prohibition of the amendment taking place, and the commissioners stated that they fear they'll be sued by the federal government as cannabis currently remains on the Schedule 1 list, among the most dangerous drugs. The Charlotte County Sheriff, Bill Prummel, has been vocal in his opposition to medical marijuana because of his fears that "we will trade our pill mills for pot shops," referring to the Florida clinics that loosely issued prescription painkillers throughout the state and causing an addiction epidemic, until Florida attorney general Pam Bondi issued legislation to shut them down in 2011. Sheriff Prummel is Chair of the Charlotte Drug-Free Florida committee. The State committee, Drug-Free Florida, spent $704,389 in the weeks before the general election by producing television ads declaring, "marijuana has no medicinal purposes."

## Endorsements

| News Agencies | Organizations | Political Figures |
| 88.5 WMNF The Miami Herald The Palm Beach Post Sun-Sentinel Florida Today Herald-Tribune Tallahassee Democrat The Gainesville Sun Ocala StarBanner | AFL-CIO AFSME America Votes American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Annie Appleseed Project Democratic Women's Club of Florida Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Florida Democratic Party Florida NAACP Kendall Federation Political Action Committee Medical Marijuana of South Florida Miami Dade Young Dems New College of Florida Democrats NORML Palm Beach County Democratic Black Caucus Planned Parenthood Progress Florida Ruth's List SEIU Florida Teamsters 2011 United Teachers of Dade | State senator Oscar Braynon, II U.S. representative Corrine Brown State senator Dwight Bullard Former state senator Paula Dockery U.S. representative Joe Garcia U.S. representative Alcee Hastings Former state senator Tony Hill State representative Cynthia Stafford Libertarian Party activist David Leavitt |

## Path to the ballot

Following the failure of the 2014 initiative by the same name, on December 17, 2015, the Florida Supreme Court concluded that the People for United Medical Marijuana's sponsorship of Amendment 2 satisfied the court's requirements.
Sponsored again by United for Care, they received the following petition signatures for the initiative to begin and appear on the primary, per election requirements:
| Required for review by Attorney General: | 68,314 |
| Required to have initiative on the ballot: | 683,149 |
| Number currently valid: | 716,270* |
In the weeks prior to the general election date, Broward County election officials omitted Amendment 2 from some of the mail in ballots, prompting a lawsuit from NORML, a pro marijuana legalization firm. Following two emergency hearings, the 17th Judicial Circuit Court judge, Carol-Lisa Phillips, ruled that "there is no evidence of irreparable harm in the case." She continued, "because both of the voters who had confirmed instances of faulty vote-by-mail ballots already received replacement ballots," and no further action has been taken against the election officials.
The amendment passed during the general election on November 8, 2016, with a supermajority vote of 71.32%. That percentage equated to 6,518,919 total votes in favor of the amendment.

## Economic impact

According to research from the company New Frontier Data, the market growth is expected to be $1.6 billion a year by 2020 due to the state's percentage of the elderly and because it is the third most populous state in America.