Wondering how to get your medical marijuana card in Florida? Curious if you qualify? You’ve come to the right place!
CannaMD‘s statewide network of board certified physicians specialize in providing patients with the legally required recommendation to receive a medical marijuana card.
Read on to learn what conditions qualify, where to find doctors, and how to get started once you have your official medical marijuana card!
Florida Marijuana Card Laws
In 2016, Florida voters legalized medical marijuana with the passage of the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative, also known as Amendment 2. Several months later, Senate Bill 8A was passed, outlining rules for use and administration.
Importantly, on March 18, 2019, Governor DeSantis signed Senate Bill 182 into effect. This new law made smoking medical marijuana legal! (For more details on the back-and-forth leading up to Senate Bill 182, see our earlier post: Florida’s Medical Marijuana Smoking Ban.)
But what else do these laws say?
Glad you asked!
What is Medical Marijuana?
To break down Florida’s medical marijuana laws, we first need to understand what medical marijuana is. As qualifying medical marijuana physicians, we’re often asked:
What’s the difference between medical and ‘regular’ marijuana?
In short, marijuana is marijuana. The distinction between recreational (or “regular”) marijuana and medical marijuana comes down to legal definitions determined by each state and the way the product is being used. Essentially, recreational marijuana is cannabis used without any medical justification.
Florida lawmakers consider “all parts of any Cannabis plant” marijuana; however, marijuana is only considered “medical” if it’s dispensed from a medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) to a state-qualified patient.
How To Get a Medical Marijuana Card in Florida
If you’re interested in getting started with medical marijuana, CannaMD can help!
(While more details are discussed below, you can take a shortcut and find out if you qualify for FREE here!)
Before purchasing cannabis from a licensed MMTC, or dispensary, patients must first visit a physician who has completed the state-mandated education requirements to recommend, or prescribe, medical marijuana. (All CannaMD physicians have completed these requirements!)
After the certified physician has determined that the patient is in fact eligible (more on eligibility requirements, below), the physician then forwards their recommendation to the Florida Department of Health. The Florida Department of Health issues the patient website login credentials, after which the patient is able to pay the state-required fee of $75 online and complete their application.
Within a week on average, the Florida Department of Health will send approval confirmation via email. At this point, patients may begin purchasing medical marijuana products – even before their official medical marijuana card arrives!
According to Florida state law, patients must visit their medical marijuana physician (in-person) every 210 days to renew their certification.
Ready to schedule an appointment? Our experienced team of medical marijuana experts are available seven days a week to book appointments and answer any questions you may have. Give us a call at (855) 420-9170!
Need a little more information first? No problem!
Let’s dive into more details…
Who Can Qualify for Medical Marijuana?
Senate Bill 8A defines a qualified patient as:
A resident of this state [Florida] who has been added to the medical marijuana use registry by a qualified physician to receive marijuana or a marijuana delivery device for a medical use and who has a qualified patient identification card.
To qualify for medical marijuana in Florida, a patient must:
- Be diagnosed by a certified physician with a qualifying condition, and
- Have permanent or temporary residency in the state of Florida.
Let’s take a closer look at these two requirements…
Qualifying Conditions
As outlined by Amendment 2, the following conditions qualify for medical marijuana treatment in Florida:
In addition to the qualifying conditions above, Senate Bill 8A allows for treatment of other “diagnosable, debilitating conditions of like, kind, or class” (such as anxiety, depression, and migraines), as well as terminal conditions (diagnosed by a physician other than the physician issuing certification) and chronic nonmalignant pain (defined as pain caused by a qualifying medical condition that persists beyond the usual course of that condition).
For a full list of conditions that may qualify, please see our Qualifying Conditions Resource Page.
What Do I Need To Get a Med Card in Florida?
Qualifying patients must also provide proof of Florida residency. To establish permanent Florida residency, patients must supply one of the following documents (along with a photo ID):
- Copy of a house deed or lease agreement
- Utility bill (no more than two months old)
- State ID or driver’s license
- Passport
In addition to permanent residents, Senate Bill 8A states that individuals who meet the definition of seasonal residents may qualify, as well:
The term ‘seasonal resident’ means any person who temporarily resides in this state [Florida] for a period of at least 31 consecutive days in each calendar year, maintains a temporary residence in this state, returns to the state or jurisdiction of his or her residence at least one time during each calendar year, and is registered to vote or pays income tax in another state or jurisdiction.
For details on proving temporary residency, please see: Florida Snowbirds Can Use Medical Marijuana.
Florida Medical Marijuana (“Weed”) Card Requirements
To summarize, patients looking to get their medical marijuana card in Florida need to:
- Visit a state-licensed, qualified physician (such as CannaMD) to received a medical marijuana recommendation
- Pay the state-required fee to the Florida Department of Health
- Confirm residency
- Wait for approval from the Florida Department of Health, issued via email (a hard-copy card will follow via mail)
- Keep their recommendation current by visiting a medical marijuana physician every 210 days
- Keep their medical card current by renewing with the state every year
After that, patients are authorized to make legal cannabis purchases at any state-licensed dispensary in Florida!