Ingestible medical marijuana was legalized in the Sunshine State, Florida, in 2016. Three years later followed the legalization of ‘smokable’ cannabis; and now providing further relief to its registered medical marijuana patients, the Florida state government has legalized the manufacturing and sale of edible marijuana products.
Reportedly, the new rules will permit local dispensaries to “manufacture and sell edible products such as candies, lozenges, brownies, chocolates, baked goods, gelatins or drink powders.”
The new rules have come into effect with a similar set of stipulations as implemented by other states where marijuana edibles are legal, for instance, the edibles shouldn’t come in bright attractive colors which could appeal to children; they mustn’t look similar to any other commercially available candy; and must be packed appropriately.
It seems that many dispensaries in the state were anticipating this reform as “they have already partnered with companies that provide marijuana edibles in other states,” reported The Miami Herald. Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical marijuana company, for instance, had partnered with Binske, a reputed Colorado firm known for its granola bars, cannabis chocolates and even French-inspired Pâté de Fruit candies. Other well-established companies like Curaleaf, MUV and Medmen are also all set to bring edibles into the Florida market through its existing partners.
Meanwhile, there have been some efforts to restrict certain laws of the medical marijuana program. Republican state Sen. Gayle Harrell introduced a bill earlier this year, which sought to restrict the content of THC to a maximum of 10% for patients under the age of 21. “I am very concerned about the increasing content of THC in marijuana,” Harrell had said. “This isn’t the marijuana from the ‘60s.”
Industry representatives, however, opposed the proposal and it was eventually pulled out of a healthcare bill.
