State Medical Marijuana Amendment Passes 1st Senate Panel
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TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/AP) — The state's proposed constitutional amendment on medical marijuana has cleared its first hurdle in the Senate.
On Tuesday it won approval from the Health Quality Committee on Tuesday. It must go through two more committees before reaching the Senate floor.
Sen. Rob Bradley's bill includes parts of four other bills that were considered by the committee during a workshop two years ago. The biggest addition is it grants five new licenses — including one to minority farmers — by October, plus four additional for every 75,000 patients registered. Previous license additions didn't start until 125,000 patients. There are currently seven licensed distributing organizations.
It also requires comprehensive tracking, from seed to sale, and part-year residents a pathway to obtaining cannabis.
Under Amendment 2, the state must have implementing laws in place by July.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)