A legislative proposal now before a Florida conference committee threatens to revoke medical marijuana registrations for people convicted of certain drug crimes—including simply purchasing more than 10 grams of cannabis.

The provision, which would affect both registered patients and caregivers, was agreed to on Tuesday by House lawmakers. It was a part of SB 2514 when the legislation was filed and later passed by the Senate, while the House approved an entirely different version of the bill and sent the disagreement to be ironed out in the conference committee, formed earlier this month.

As first reported by Florida Politics, House lawmakers have now signed off on the Senate medical marijuana language, offering to accept that provision. Though the offer hasn’t been finalized, it’s reportedly “very likely” the restriction will be included.

The Senate language would require the state Department of Health (DOH) “to revoke the registration” of a qualified patient or caregiver if that person “entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or was found guilty” of a covered drug offense.

Patients’ or caregivers’ registrations would be suspended immediately upon charges being filed, and the suspensions would last until “final disposition of the alleged offense.”

It’s not clear from the plain language of the proposal whether it would impact only future criminal cases involving medical marijuana patients and caregivers or whether DOH would need to review the records of existing program registrants and revoke registrations of an untold number of Floridians with past drug convictions.

Florida Politics wrote of the bill that “for those who found the medical marijuana program as a way to escape the black market, the new language may complicate their legal status.”

The provision would impact people charged under the state Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act and reportedly covers cases involving the purchase of more than 10 grams” of any illicit substance or the delivery “without consideration, [of] 20 grams or less of cannabis.”

Lawmakers defeated several proposals to expand the medical cannabis program during this year’s regular legislation session—including by allowing home cultivation, adding new qualifying conditions, protecting employment and parental rights of patients and letting military veterans register for free.

Meanwhile in Florida, advocates are working toward putting a new adult-use marijuana legalization measure on the 2026 state ballot following the failure of Amendment 3 at the polls last November.

After filing the measure and launching a signature drive earlier this year, the campaign Smart & Safe Florida has collected 377,832 valid signatures—about 150,000 more than required to kick off the review process, according to Division of Elections numbers from earlier this month.

The state is now statutorily obligated to conduct a judicial and financial review of the measure that will determine its legal eligibility and inform the electorate about its potential economic impact.

Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026. The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.

For example, it now specifically states that the “smoking and vaping of marijuana in any public place is prohibited.”Another section asserts that the legislature would need to approve rules dealing with the “regulation of the time, place, and manner of the public consumption of marijuana.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had repeatedly condemned the 2024 initiative over that issue, claiming there were not parameters to prevent public smoking, while expressing his distaste for the smell of cannabis.

The governor said in February that the newest measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from going before voters next year.

Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he feels this version would face a different outcome.

While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.

However, the results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.

In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed a GOP-led bill last month to impose significant restrictions on the ability to put initiatives on the ballot—a plan that could impair efforts to let voters decide on marijuana legalization next year.

Separately, a Florida GOP senator claimed recently that the legalization campaign “tricked” Trump into supporting the 2024 measure by misleading him and the general public about key provisions.

Ahead of the election, Trump said in September that he felt Amendment 3 was “going to be very good” for the state.

Before making the comments, Trump met with the CEO of Trulieve, Kim Rivers, as well as with a GOP state senator who is in favor of the reform.

While Trump endorsed the Florida cannabis initiative—as well as federal rescheduling and industry banking access—he has since been silent on cannabis issues. And his cabinet choices have mixed records on marijuana policy.

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service administrator last week sent a letter to all Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) retailers noting that cannabis-derived products are ineligible for purchase with SNAP. In the letter, Administrator James C. Miller said the clarification is part of the agency’s commitment to fighting “waste, fraud, and abuse.”  

“This letter serves as a reminder that it is a program violation to accept SNAP benefits for foods and drinks containing controlled substances such as cannabis/marijuana.” — Miller, in the letter 

The letter adds that “Retailers who commit program violations will face consequences which include disqualification from the ability to accept SNAP benefits, monetary penalties, fines and/or criminal prosecution.” 

The letter does not contain any information about what prompted it or the rate at which cannabis-infused food and drinks are purchased using SNAP benefits. 

The USDA website also lists CBD products on its ineligible list, alongside beer, wine, and liquor, cigarettes and tobacco, vitamins, medicines, and supplements, live animals, foods that are hot at point-of-sale, and non-food items. 

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The governor of South Carolina says there’s a “compelling” case to be made for legalizing medical marijuana in the state, despite reservations from law enforcement. And a key GOP lawmaker who’s championed the reform over multiple sessions says he’s eyeing 2026 as the year to finally get the job done.

Gov. Henry McMaster (R) said last week that he thinks supporters of the reform have a “very compelling situation,” despite the fact that “law enforcement, almost end-to-end, still have grave concerns.”

“I think what we need to do is study it very carefully, get as much information as we can and try to do the right thing,” he said.

Sen. Tom Davis (R), who has sponsored several bills to legalize medical cannabis cannabis described his legislation as “conservative.”

“It is strictly limited to medical conditions,” he said. “And really this is all about—let’s not forget what we’re after here—this is about helping patients.”

The office of House Speaker Murrell Smith (R) tempered expectations, however, saying in a statement to WSPA 7 News that the leader’s “previous statement on the medical marijuana bill holds true,” referencing his comments on insufficient support within the GOP caucus to advance the reform.

Davi said he intends to speak with Smith about the issue, claiming that he feels there’s enough support within the GOP-controlled House to advance it.

An earlier version of Davis’s cannabis measure passed the Senate last legislative session but was never taken up in the House. He filed a new version for the 2025 session last December.

“It requires doctors in patient authorization, doctor supervision,” Davis said at the time. “It requires pharmacists to dispense it. It is a very conservative bill, because that’s what South Carolinians want.”

As introduced, the legislation would allow patients to access medical marijuana from “therapeutic cannabis pharmacies,” which would be licensed by the state Board of Pharmacy. Individuals would need to receive a doctor’s recommendation for the treatment of certain qualifying conditions, which include several specific ailments as well as terminal illnesses and chronic diseases where opioids are the standard of care.

Among the public, medical marijuana legalization enjoys overwhelming bipartisan support in the state, with a poll last year finding that 93 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of independents back the reform.

The state Senate passed an earlier version of the legislation in 2022, but it stalled in the opposite body over a procedural hiccup.

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When senators began debating the medical marijuana legislation last year, the body adopted an amendment that clarifies the bill does not require landlords or people who control property to allow vaporization of cannabis products.

As debate on the legislation continued, members clashed over whether the current version of the legislation contains major differences from an earlier iteration that the body passed in 2022.

Certain lawmakers have also raised concerns that medical cannabis legalization would lead to broader reform to allow adult-use marijuana, that it could put pharmacists with roles in dispensing cannabis in jeopardy and that federal law could preempt the state’s program, among other worries.

After Davis’s Senate-passed medical cannabis bill was blocked in the House in 2022, he tried another avenue for the reform proposal, but that similarly failed on procedural grounds.

The lawmaker has called the stance of his own party, particularly as it concerns medical marijuana, “an intellectually lazy position that doesn’t even try to present medical facts as they currently exist.”

Meanwhile, South Carolina’s hemp industry has been going through it’s own trials, with some businesses turning away from the crop amid disappointing returns on their investments into the market.

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