HB 1039 Summary: Recreational Marijuana

• Creates Chapter 566 establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework for recreational marijuana in Florida, including licensing of cultivation facilities, testing facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and retail stores.

• Imposes a $50 per ounce excise tax on marijuana sales from cultivation facilities, with annual inflation adjustments; revenue distributed to the General Revenue Fund (85%) and the Alcoholic Beverage, Marijuana, and Tobacco Trust Fund (15%), with 5% of excise tax revenues transferred to the Department of Health for marijuana research through January 1, 2023.

• Permits adults 21 and older to possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, cultivate up to 6 plants for personal use, and smoke/ingest marijuana in non-public places; prohibits public smoking with a $100 civil penalty.

• Establishes local control allowing municipalities to prohibit marijuana establishments or set lower limits on retail stores; provides fallback licensing procedures for localities if the Division fails to issue licenses by January 1, 2016.

• Prohibits minors from using false identification to obtain marijuana with escalating civil penalties ($200-$600); makes it unlawful for marijuana establishments to employ persons under 18 and exempts licensed operators from certain regulated provisions.