The House last week approved a THC cap for medical marijuana. The vote, on what had been an unrelated health care bill, may hit a Senate roadblock.
House members approved a Rep. Ray Rodrigues amendment (434551) to HB 713 that would resuscitate a 10% cap on whole flower and derivatives for patients under 21.
However, a Senate amendment from cannabis proponent Sen. Jeff Brandes would strike that out.
In addition to the “potency cap” for minors, the language would prohibit renewing licenses of nonperforming Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, refine statutory language on dosage limits per day and require that a testing lab be independent of cannabis companies, testing all forms of marijuana.
The Brandes amendment targets nonperforming MMTCs, but strikes the rest.
The Senate already killed one backdoor THC cap try.
Brandes, for his part, has said the Senate must “hold the line.”
“Florida has turned the corner on medical cannabis,” Brandes said last month, noting that in the Senate, there is “broad support against the cap.”
HB 713 was previously unrelated to medical marijuana, but House Speaker José Oliva, whose family is in the tobacco cigar business, defended the amendment.
“We really want to see THC caps,” Oliva added, “particularly for minors, some limitation on the types of chemicals that could possibly be detrimental to a young brain.”
The issue, dormant much of the Legislative Session, was sparked anew last month when Oliva suggested a cap for flower and derivatives was a “priority.”
Though the House put limits on puff, the Senate would prefer to pass, the Senate President noted last week.
Senate President Bill Galvano noted Thursday that a Senate committee rejected a similar backdoor attempt to impose a cap for kids.
“The problem is,” Galvano said, “it was considered and it did not have the votes to pass.”
“It’s a tough vote over here,” Galvano said, adding that he would have supported the cap personally.
The Speaker wondered whether “appetite” for the cap exists on the other side of the Fourth Floor.
Brandes’ amendment will tell the tale.