It must be said that right now, new cannabis legislation has been passed in Ft Myers, FL. But there is a prediction going around that it could become the next Florida municipality which decriminalizes marijuana. For this, there is a proposed amendment.  

Marijuana laws in Florida 

To understand this possible proposed amendment, you need to know two weed laws in Florida:  

• Florida has only legalized the use of medical marijuana so only patients who suffer from debilitating medical conditions can use medical marijuana. Recreational use isn’t permitted so if you are caught using marijuana without a medical cannabis permit then you will face a lot of legal consequences.  
• Know that having cannabis of 20 grams or less qualifies as a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to a year in prison. You will be fined within a thousand dollars. If you have more than 20 grams on you then the entire thing can be labelled as a felony. This will be punishable with jail time for up to five years. You can also be fined for any amount up to $5,000.  

Why is this amendment being put up? 

In Florida, having 20 grams or less is classified as a misdemeanor which is punishable by up to a year of jail term along with fines. But in some places, like the Miami-Dade County, minor pot possession isn’t punishable and has been decriminalized. Activists believe that the penalty is way too harsh. They feel that people who can’t get a doctor’s note to get weed, can’t automatically get just a note for the first-time misuse and then end up in jail. This is being called a civil rights issue.  

What is the proposed amendment? 

The proposed amendment wants officers to first issue a hundred dollar citation for an arrest. It even says that the proceeds from all the fines will be used for a trust fund that will be used to educate youth on drug abuse. Local activists are certainly doing everything they can to get as many signatures as possible. This is so that the amendment can be put to the city charter on the ballet when the year’s election rolls around.  

Can the amendment be put to the city charter? 

To have a charter amendment on the ballot, around ten percent of the total registered voters (accordingly to the last municipal general election) will have to sign the petition. In Ft Myers that will come up to around 4,000 signatures.  

Will Ft Myers be the first municipality in Florida to this? 

This isn’t something new which Ft Myers is doing. After all, if the referendum can get on the ballot and is then subsequently approved then Ft Myers will join more than a dozen other municipalities in Florida who have decided to go in this direction.  

Can recreational marijuana be legalized in Florida? 

There have been talks that recreational marijuana could be the next issue on the statewide ballot for 2020 in Florida. But this seems easier said than done. The cost of weed is fairly high in Florida. More and more people tend to believe that a kind of patchwork system will continue to work in Florida as municipalities continue to get out of state law and try to adopt more flexible and lenient laws for first-time offenders.  

If this amendment is passed then people in Ft Myers will be able to breathe a sigh of relief. Now people who aren’t adequately informed about marijuana laws won’t accidentally be caught with more than the stipulated amount and be put straight to jail. This will give first-time offenders relief.