FL H0291

Adults aged 21 and older may legally possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana, grow up to 6 plants at their residence with reasonable security precautions, and transfer up to 2.5 ounces and 6 seedlings without remuneration to other adults; consumption is restricted to nonpublic places, with a $100 civil penalty for smoking in public.

Four categories of licensed marijuana establishments are created — retail stores, cultivation facilities, product manufacturing facilities, and testing facilities — under a new Chapter 566, Florida Statutes, administered by a renamed Division of Alcoholic Beverages, Marijuana, and Tobacco within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

Retail store licenses are capped based on local population (e.g., 1 per 5,000 residents in localities over 20,000), with sales prohibited between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m., no sales to persons under 21 or visibly intoxicated individuals, and no minors permitted on retail premises.

The Division must adopt emergency rules by June 1, 2022, begin accepting license applications by August 1, 2022, and issue or deny licenses within 90 days; if the Division fails to act by January 1, 2023, applicants may apply directly to local governments, which must issue licenses within 90 days.

Localities may prohibit any or all types of marijuana establishments by ordinance, and may regulate the time, place, manner, and number of establishments, establish local fees, and create their own licensing and enforcement procedures.

Cannabis is removed from Florida's Schedule I controlled substances list, and all cannabis-specific criminal penalties — including possession of 20 grams or less, delivery of 20 grams or less without consideration, and the entire cannabis trafficking provision (25+ lbs/300+ plants) — are eliminated; authorized conduct under Chapter 566 is explicitly exempt from prosecution under the controlled substances and trafficking statutes.

The act applies retroactively to persons currently incarcerated or under supervision for cannabis offenses: the Department of Corrections must notify eligible individuals, who may petition the court of original jurisdiction for resentencing; those with no remaining charges must be released immediately, and resentenced individuals receive credit for time served and gain-time eligibility. Violent offenses are excluded.

Until January 1, 2030, 5% of monthly marijuana excise tax revenues are directed to the Department of Health for grants producing peer-reviewed research on the beneficial uses and safety of marijuana; remaining funds are deposited into the renamed Alcoholic Beverage, Marijuana, and Tobacco Trust Fund.

Employer drug policies and workplace prohibitions remain unaffected, DUI laws continue to apply, property owners may prohibit marijuana use on their premises, and the law does not apply to low-THC cannabis already regulated under the state's compassionate use program (s. 381.986).

The act takes effect July 1, 2022, except that local control provisions and emergency rulemaking authority take effect upon the act becoming law; the criminal punishment code's offense severity ranking chart is comprehensively updated to remove cannabis trafficking entries and renumber all remaining drug trafficking offenses.