Voting Guide: Amendment 2

Amendment 2, The Florida Right to Medical Marijuana Initiative, will be on the November 4 ballot as an initiated state constitutional amendment. If approved, it would legalize the cultivation, purchase, possession and use of marijuana to treat medical conditions when recommended by a licensed physician. The measure would also order the Florida Department of Health to register and regulate producers and distributors of medical marijuana and to issue identification cards to patients and caregivers utilizing marijuana.

The official ballot text reads as follows:

“Allows the medical use of marijuana for individuals with debilitating diseases as determined by a licensed Florida physician. Allows caregivers to assist patients’ medical use of marijuana. The Department of Health shall register and regulate centers that produce and distribute marijuana for medical purposes and shall issue identification cards to patients and caregivers. Applies only to Florida law. Does not authorize violations of federal law or any non-medical use, possession or production of marijuana."

Increased costs from this amendment to state and local governments are difficult to estimate. There will be additional regulatory and enforcement activities associated with the production and sale of medical marijuana, and one can also assume there will be at least some offset from costs that would have been associated with prohibition enforcement.

Fees will also offset a portion of the regulatory costs. While sales taxes might apply to purchases, changes in revenue are unknown, as the extent to which medical marijuana will be exempt from taxation would be decided by legislative or administrative action.

Click here to get more information on Amendment 2 from Ballotpedia.org, an online encyclopedia about American politics and elections, published by the Lucy Burns Institute, a non-profit seeking to empower citizens to engage in democracy.