Marijuana Laws in Florida: Penalties, Medical Cards, and DUI

Marijuana laws in Florida allow medical use by registered patients but treat recreational possession, sale, and cultivation as crimes, with penalties running from a first-degree misdemeanor for small amounts up to a 15-year mandatory minimum prison sentence for large-scale trafficking. Voters approved medical marijuana in 2016. A 2024 recreational legalization measure got 55.9% of the vote, short of the 60% supermajority Florida requires, so recreational use remains illegal.¹

Penalties for Recreational Possession

Possession without a valid medical card is prosecuted under Florida Statute 893.13. The amount you’re caught with determines whether you’re facing a misdemeanor or a felony.

20 grams or less of plant material: First-degree misdemeanor. Up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.²
More than 20 grams but under 25 pounds: Third-degree felony. Up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.²
Any amount of concentrates or hashish: Third-degree felony. Up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, even for a small vape cartridge.

Concentrates get treated more harshly than flower. There is no misdemeanor threshold for hash oil, wax, or shatter. Any quantity is a felony if you don’t have a medical card.

Cultivation

Growing marijuana without a medical card or MMTC license is a felony. Fewer than 25 plants is a third-degree felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Twenty-five plants or more is prosecuted as trafficking.

Trafficking

Florida’s trafficking statute triggers at 25 pounds or 300 plants and carries mandatory minimum prison sentences a judge cannot go below.³

25 to under 2,000 pounds, or 300 to 2,000 plants: 3-year mandatory minimum, $25,000 fine.
2,000 to under 10,000 pounds, or 2,000 to 10,000 plants: 7-year mandatory minimum, $50,000 fine.
10,000 pounds or more, or 10,000+ plants: 15-year mandatory minimum, $200,000 fine.

The trafficking weight is total plant weight, not the weight of THC. Stems, moisture, and packaging all count, which is how quantities cross into trafficking territory faster than people expect.

Sales Near Schools and Other Protected Locations

Selling, manufacturing, or delivering marijuana within 1,000 feet of a school, child care facility, park, community center, or public recreation facility triggers enhanced penalties. Sales near a school between 6 a.m. and midnight are reclassified to a higher felony degree.²

Who Qualifies for Medical Marijuana

Florida’s medical program runs under Statute 381.986. To qualify, you must be a permanent or seasonal Florida resident and be diagnosed by a state-certified physician with one of the qualifying conditions:⁴

Cancer
Epilepsy
Glaucoma
HIV/AIDS
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
Crohn’s disease
Parkinson’s disease
Multiple sclerosis
Terminal conditions
Chronic nonmalignant pain caused by or originating from a qualifying condition

A physician can also recommend marijuana for conditions of the same kind or class, or for any condition the physician believes marijuana will benefit, if it’s documented in the medical record.⁴

Getting the Card

Your physician enters you into the state’s Medical Marijuana Use Registry. You then apply to the Office of Medical Marijuana Use for a registry identification card. The card fee is $75 for both initial applications and renewals. Seasonal residents without a Florida driver’s license must provide two proofs of residency, such as a utility bill or lease dated within the prior two months.⁵

The physician evaluation is separate and typically runs $100 to $250. Total upfront cost for a new patient generally lands between $175 and $325, and health insurance does not cover it. Once approved, you can order from any licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Center, which dispense flower, vape cartridges, oils, capsules, topicals, and edibles.⁴

Patients who can’t manage their own medication can designate a caregiver, who must be at least 21, a Florida resident, and must complete a state certification course costing no more than $100.⁴

What a Medical Card Does and Doesn’t Cover

Patients can possess up to a 70-day supply, and physicians can issue up to three 70-day orders per consultation. Smokable flower is capped at 2.5 ounces over a rolling 35-day period.⁴

Even with a card, several activities remain illegal:

Using medical marijuana in any public place.
Using it on federal land, in federal buildings, or in federally subsidized housing.
Giving, selling, or transferring your medical marijuana to anyone else, even another patient.
Driving while impaired.

Marijuana DUI

Driving impaired by marijuana is illegal for everyone, cardholder or not. Florida’s DUI statute covers impairment by any controlled substance.⁶

A first-offense marijuana DUI carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, up to six months in jail, and a license suspension. A second DUI within five years brings a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail. A third within 10 years is a third-degree felony.⁶

There is no THC blood-level threshold that automatically proves impairment the way there is for alcohol. Prosecutors rely on field sobriety tests, officer observations, and drug recognition expert evaluations. That makes marijuana DUI cases fact-heavy, but if an officer can show impaired driving, saying you only used a little is not a defense.

Hemp and CBD

Hemp is regulated separately from marijuana. Under Florida Statute 581.217, hemp is cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9-THC by dry weight. Hemp-derived CBD oils, edibles, and topicals meeting that threshold are not controlled substances.⁷

Two rules on packaging and sales matter to consumers:

Every hemp extract product must carry a scannable barcode or QR code linking to a lab certificate of analysis confirming THC content.
Hemp products intended to be eaten, drunk, or inhaled cannot be sold to anyone under 21. That covers gummies, drinks, vape cartridges, and smokable hemp. Selling to a minor is a second-degree misdemeanor, escalating to first-degree for a repeat within one year.⁷

Topical creams and lotions are not subject to the age-21 rule because they aren’t ingested or inhaled.

Where Federal Law Overrides Your Card

Marijuana remains a Schedule I controlled substance federally, and Florida’s medical program does not change that.⁸ Two consequences hit patients personally.

Firearms

Federal law bars anyone who uses a controlled substance from possessing firearms or ammunition.⁹ Because marijuana is Schedule I, every medical marijuana patient is a “prohibited person” under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), even though Florida authorizes the use.¹⁰ ATF Form 4473, which you complete when buying a firearm from a licensed dealer, asks about controlled substance use and specifically warns that marijuana counts regardless of state law. Answering “no” while holding a card is a federal crime. Answering “yes” means the sale is denied.

Employment

A medical marijuana card does not protect your job. The state statute explicitly declines to create a cause of action against employers for wrongful discharge or discrimination, and employers keep their right to maintain a drug-free workplace.⁴ A Florida employer can fire you for a positive THC test even when your use is off-duty and medically authorized. Employers can refuse to hire applicants who test positive. The ADA offers no protection because it does not cover use of federally illegal substances.

Federal employees, contractors subject to federal drug testing, and workers in federally regulated safety-sensitive roles such as commercial truck drivers and airline pilots face termination for marijuana use regardless of a state card. Using medical marijuana on federal property, including national parks, VA hospitals, military bases, and post offices, is a federal offense.

1
Ballotpedia. Florida Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2024)
2
Justia Law. Florida Code Title XLVI Chapter 893 Section 893-13 – Prohibited Acts; Penalties
3
Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 893.135 – Trafficking; Mandatory Sentences; Suspension or Reduction of Sentences; Conspiracy
4
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIX Chapter 381 Section 381-986 – Medical Use of Marijuana
5
Office of Medical Marijuana Use. Registry Identification Cards
6
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIII Chapter 316 Section 316-193 – Driving Under the Influence; Penalties
7
Justia Law. Florida Code Title XXXV Chapter 581 Section 581-217 – State Hemp Program
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 21 USC 812 – Schedules of Controlled Substances
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts
10
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons