Florida cannabis rules for visitors

Visitors cannot legally buy or possess marijuana in Florida: only Florida residents, including registered seasonal residents, who hold an active Medical Marijuana Use Registry card may buy, and the state does not honor cards from other states (s. 381.986(1)(m), (5)(b); OMMU). A registered patient may hold up to a 70-day supply, capped at 24,500 milligrams of THC across non-smokable forms, plus up to 4 ounces of smokable flower, may buy no more than 2.5 ounces of flower in any 35 days, and must keep everything in its original packaging (s. 381.986(14)(a); Rule 64-4.224). Anyone else holding 20 grams or less of plant cannabis commits a first-degree misdemeanor; more than 20 grams, or any amount of resin or a product made from resin, such as a concentrate, most vape oil or an extract-infused edible, is a third-degree felony, while hemp products that meet s. 581.217 are not cannabis under chapter 893 (s. 893.02(3), 893.13(6)(a), (b)).

Florida sells marijuana only to registered Florida patients and caregivers. There is no adult-use market: Amendment 3 won 55.9 percent of the vote on November 5, 2024, short of the 60 percent the constitution requires, and the Division of Elections now lists the next adult-use petitions for the 2028 ballot, not 2026. Licensed medical marijuana treatment centers sell only to registered patients and caregivers, and Florida offers no reciprocity and no visitor card. Even cardholders may not use it in public places, vehicles, boats or on public transportation, except low-THC cannabis that is not smoked (s. 381.986(1)(k)). Hemp extract products meant to be eaten or inhaled, tested at no more than 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC, may be sold only to adults 21 and older (s. 581.217(7)), and a narrower federal hemp definition takes effect in steps from November 12, 2026. Florida law still applies at its airports and cruise ports, and flights, cruise ships, national parks and trips into Georgia or Alabama add federal law or those states' laws.

The regulator is the Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use. Check any shop's license on the state license lookup before you buy.

No, not unless they are Florida patients. Florida has only a medical program, and licensed medical marijuana treatment centers may dispense only after confirming that the patient, and any caregiver, has an active registration and an active Medical Marijuana Use Registry identification card (s. 381.986(8)(e)16.d). The Office of Medical Marijuana Use says Florida does not offer reciprocity and that its treatment centers fill orders only for qualified Florida patients and their caregivers. No temporary or visiting-patient card exists. The only route for a part-year visitor is the seasonal resident rule: someone who lives in Florida at least 31 consecutive days each calendar year, meets the statute's other conditions and shows two proofs of a Florida address may register, but still needs a qualifying condition and an in-person exam by a Florida qualified physician (s. 381.986(4)(a)1, (5)(b)).

Registered patients buy against a physician's order. A treatment center may not dispense more than a 70-day supply in any 70 days, or more than 2.5 ounces of smokable flower in any 35 days, and a patient may not possess more than a 70-day supply plus 4 ounces of flower, all kept in original packaging (s. 381.986(8)(e)16.b, (14)(a)). Rule 64-4.224, in force since August 24, 2026, caps a 70-day supply at 24,500 milligrams of THC across non-smokable forms, with 4,200 milligrams for edibles, 24,500 milligrams for vapes and 14,000 milligrams for oral capsules or tinctures. Edibles are limited to 10 milligrams of THC a serving and 200 milligrams for a multi-serving edible, with a potency variance of up to 15 percent (Rule 64-4.205(10)).

For everyone else, possession is a crime under chapter 893. Holding 20 grams or less of plant cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine; anything more is a third-degree felony with up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine (s. 893.13(6), 775.082, 775.083). The 20-gram break covers only plant material: for possession, the statute excludes resin and every preparation of resin from the misdemeanor, so a marijuana vape cartridge, wax or extract-infused gummy brought from another state is charged under the felony rule at any weight, unless it is hemp that meets s. 581.217 (s. 893.02(3), 893.13(6)(a), (b)). Marijuana bought outside a Florida treatment center is never protected, even for a Florida patient (s. 381.986(1)(k)1).

A few local codes add a civil option at the officer's discretion. Miami-Dade County lists a $100 civil violation notice for 20 grams or less (Code 21-81(d)(6), 8CC-10), Orlando treats it as a code violation costing $100, then $200 (Code 43.95, 5.19), Tampa fines plant possession $75 for a first offense rising to $450 (Code 14-62, 23.5-5), and Monroe County, home to Key West, sets a $100 uncontested citation (Code 17-7). None of this makes possession legal. Amendment 3 drew 55.9 percent in 2024 against a 60 percent threshold, and Smart & Safe Florida's petition 25-01 missed the 2026 ballot: a February 14, 2026 capture of the Division of Elections database showed 783,592 signatures reported valid by county supervisors against 880,062 required, and the database now lists the petition for the 2028 election.

Only registered patients and caregivers can buy, and the registry card is the ID that matters. Before each sale the treatment center must confirm an active registration and an active, valid Medical Marijuana Use Registry identification card for the patient and any caregiver, and check that the amount and type match the physician certification (s. 381.986(8)(e)16.d). The OMMU says patients and caregivers need an active card to purchase and possess medical marijuana, and that the approval email can be used to fill an order while the printed card is mailed. A passport or an out-of-state driver license on its own does not make anyone eligible to buy.

Adults 18 and older may register as patients on their own. The OMMU says the program has no age restriction, but a patient under 18 needs a second physician's concurrence, written consent from a parent or guardian and a designated caregiver, and only the caregiver may buy for that patient (s. 381.986(4)(a)3, (6)(f), (7)(b)). A treatment center may not dispense to a patient younger than 18 (s. 381.986(8)(e)16.e). Smokable flower may be certified for a minor only with a terminal condition and a board-certified pediatrician's concurrence (s. 381.986(4)(d)). Caregivers must be Florida residents 21 or older, and every treatment center employee must be at least 21 (s. 381.986(6)(b), (8)(e)4).

Cards go only to Florida residents and must be renewed every year. An adult proves residency with a Florida driver license or Florida ID card, or, as a seasonal resident, with two documents such as a deed, a lease, a utility bill no more than 2 months old or bank or government mail showing a Florida address (s. 381.986(5)(b), (7)(a)). The application fee is $75, with a $2.75 convenience fee online, a replacement costs $15, and renewals may be filed only in the 45 days before a card expires (OMMU; Rule 64-4.011). The OMMU's October 9, 2026 update put processing at 5 business days for a complete application and 5 more for printing.

Cardholders carry duties as well. A patient or caregiver who fails to show the card when a police officer asks commits a second-degree misdemeanor, but the case must be dismissed if a card that was valid at the time of arrest is produced in court (s. 381.986(12)(e)). Lying to a physician about a qualifying condition is a first-degree misdemeanor, and possessing a forged or stolen card is a third-degree felony (s. 381.986(12)(b), (l)). Age rules reach hemp too: ingestible and inhalable hemp extract products may not be sold to anyone under 21, a second-degree misdemeanor for the seller (s. 581.217(7)(d)).

Only in private places, and only with a Florida card. The statute's definition of medical use excludes use on any form of public transportation, in any public place, at work unless the employer allows it, in a correctional institution, on school grounds, and in a school bus, vehicle, aircraft or motorboat, with one exception for low-THC cannabis that is not smoked (s. 381.986(1)(k)5). Low-THC cannabis means cannabis whose dried flowers contain 0.8 percent THC or less and more than 10 percent CBD, and products made from it (s. 381.986(1)(f)). Smoking marijuana in any enclosed indoor workplace is also outside medical use (s. 381.986(1)(k)6); the statute does not define public place.

Crossing those lines is a crime even for a cardholder. A patient who uses marijuana other than low-THC cannabis in plain view of, or in a place open to, the general public, in a vehicle or boat, or on school grounds commits a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine (s. 381.986(12)(c), 775.082, 775.083). The constitution adds that nothing in the medical amendment requires anyone to accommodate smoking medical marijuana in a public place (Art. X, s. 29(c)(6)), and the statute keeps every party's right to restrict smoking or vaping marijuana on its private property (s. 381.986(15)(d)).

Miami and Miami Beach add their own fines. The City of Miami bans smoking or vaping tobacco or cannabis, including hemp, in public parks and on public beaches, with civil fines of $100, $200 and $500 for offenses within 12 months and possible removal for 24 hours (Code 37-17, adopted May 25, 2023). Miami Beach makes it unlawful to smoke any cannabis, marijuana or hemp product on public property, a term that includes streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, the beachwalk and city parking garages, punishable by up to $500 and 60 days in jail (Code 70-7, 1-14). That includes public streets such as Ocean Drive.

Florida's indoor smoking law adds a layer for vapes. The Florida Clean Indoor Air Act bans smoking tobacco and vaping any substance in enclosed indoor workplaces, with fines of up to $100 for a first violation and up to $500 after that (s. 386.203, 386.204, 386.208). The same law lets counties and cities further restrict smoking on public beaches and in public parks they own (s. 386.209), so beach rules differ from one city to the next. Hemp smokers get no pass in Miami or Miami Beach, whose bans name hemp.

Only a registered patient can, and only where the property allows it. No Florida statute names hotel rooms, and the medical marijuana law does not define public place, but it says it does not impair any party's ability to restrict smoking or vaping marijuana on private property (s. 381.986(15)(d)), so house rules bind guests. Smoking is harder: medical use excludes smoking marijuana in an enclosed indoor workplace, defined as an enclosed place where people work and applied without regard to whether work is occurring at any given time (s. 381.986(1)(k)6, 386.203(5)).

Vaping is the other trap. The Clean Indoor Air Act bans vaping any substance in enclosed indoor workplaces, and its exception for public lodging covers only guest rooms that management designates as rooms where smoking or vaping may be authorized (s. 386.203(4), (13), 386.204, 386.2045(4)). Even in such a room the hotel can ban cannabis. Lobbies, pools, bars and restaurants are open to the public, where any patient use other than non-smoked low-THC cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 381.986(12)(c)).

Orlando's theme parks are private property with their own bans. Walt Disney World's property rules list marijuana, including marijuana-enriched products, among prohibited items, state that smoking marijuana or other illegal substances is not permitted at any time, and charge a $250 to $500 room-recovery fee for smoking in Disney Resort hotel rooms or on their balconies and patios. Universal Orlando's policy page loads only through a browser script, even in Internet Archive captures, so its rules are not quoted here. Patient use in parks is barred by state law, and federal parks add federal law.

Vacation rentals follow the owner's rules and the listing terms (s. 381.986(15)(d)). The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa stand on Seminole reservations, where the tribe governs and both Florida and federal criminal law apply (s. 285.16), and the tribe's website publishes no cannabis rules. Delivery to a hotel is no workaround for visitors, because treatment centers may provide marijuana only to a qualified patient or that patient's caregiver (OMMU General FAQ).

No. Florida law provides for no on-site consumption at all. Medical use excludes any public place and smoking in any enclosed indoor workplace (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b, 6), and section 381.986, which governs the whole program, contains no license, permit or local option for a lounge, club or tasting room. Treatment centers must keep a waiting area and a private consultation room, and may not display products or dispense in the waiting area (s. 381.986(8)(f)3), so a Florida dispensary works as a pickup counter, not a place to consume.

Private clubs that charge a membership and hand out cannabis are not a legal workaround. Treatment centers are the sole source from which a patient may legally obtain marijuana (s. 381.986(8)(j)), and any person or entity that cultivates, processes, distributes, sells or dispenses marijuana without a treatment center license violates s. 893.13 (s. 381.986(12)(j)). Selling cannabis, a Schedule I substance under state law, is a third-degree felony, and selling within 1,000 feet of a school between 6 a.m. and midnight, or of a park or community center at any hour, is a second-degree felony (s. 893.03(1)(c), 893.13(1)(a), (c)).

Smoke shops do not change this. The Clean Indoor Air Act lets retail tobacco shops and retail vape shops allow tobacco smoking or vaping inside (s. 386.2045(2), (3)), but a shop open to the public is still a place where patient use of marijuana falls outside medical use (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b). Hemp extract sold there must test at no more than 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC and may be sold only to adults 21 and older (s. 581.217(7)), and in Miami Beach smoking any hemp product on public property is banned (Code 70-7).

No one may use marijuana in a vehicle in Florida, cardholder or not, except low-THC cannabis that is not smoked. Medical use excludes use in a school bus, vehicle, aircraft or motorboat and on any form of public transportation (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.a, f), and a patient who uses in a vehicle or boat commits a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 381.986(12)(c)). That covers rental cars, rideshares, taxis, buses and charter boats. Everything a patient buys must stay in its original packaging (s. 381.986(14)(a)); bills to add a separate open-container rule for marijuana products died in committee on March 13, 2026.

Driving under the influence turns on impairment, not a THC number. A driver commits DUI when under the influence of any chapter 893 controlled substance to the extent that normal faculties are impaired (s. 316.193(1)(a)), and Florida sets no blood-THC limit. A first conviction carries a fine of $500 to $1,000 and up to 6 months in jail (s. 316.193(2)). Medical status is no defense: the patient exceptions do not exempt anyone from prosecution for impairment or from a required breath, blood or urine test (s. 381.986(14)(g)).

Testing has consequences. Drivers are deemed to consent to a urine test for controlled substances after a lawful DUI arrest, and a first refusal brings a 1-year suspension of driving privileges and counts as a second-degree misdemeanor; the refusal is also admissible in court (s. 316.1932(1)(a)1.b). Separately, an adult convicted of possessing or selling a controlled substance faces a court-ordered 6-month suspension of the driver license or driving privilege, or until a required treatment program is completed (s. 322.055(1)).

Boats and the state line add more layers. Operating a vessel while impaired by any chapter 893 substance is boating under the influence (s. 327.35(1)(a)), and the constitution says nothing in the medical amendment permits operating any vehicle, aircraft, train or boat while under the influence (Art. X, s. 29(c)(4)). Driving into Georgia or Alabama with Florida-dispensed marijuana takes it outside Florida's protection entirely, as the next section explains.

Not legally. Terminals at Miami International, run by the Miami-Dade Aviation Department, and Orlando International, run by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, are open to the public, so on our reading even a patient may not use there (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b). Miami permits smoking only in designated curbside areas across from the terminal, and Orlando bans tobacco, e-cigarettes and vaping inside all airport buildings. Miami-Dade's airport rules also bar anyone but licensed practitioners from giving away or administering a controlled substance to another person at the airport (Code 25-2.12).

Flights are a federal matter. TSA's What Can I Bring page marks medical marijuana Yes (Special Instructions) for carry-on and checked bags; its April 27, 2026 update dropped an earlier line calling marijuana illegal under federal law, and it still says officers do not search for illegal drugs but refer any illegal substance found to law enforcement, with the final decision resting with the officer. The FAA's compliance letter calls marijuana Schedule I and says its cultivation, storage or distribution is prohibited on federally obligated airport property regardless of state law. The April 28, 2026 DEA rule moved state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, yet federal law still bars possessing a controlled substance unless it was obtained directly or by a valid prescription or order from a practitioner, with up to a year in prison and a $1,000 minimum fine (21 U.S.C. 844).

Cruises leave Florida's protection behind. PortMiami and Port Canaveral terminals are open to the public, where medical use is barred (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b), and the constitution says the medical amendment neither requires violating federal law nor gives immunity under it (Art. X, s. 29(c)(5)). Ships sail into international waters and foreign ports and return through U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which tells travelers that any medication that is a controlled substance must also meet DEA requirements. Cruise lines set their own bans as well: Royal Caribbean Group's conduct policy, for example, prohibits marijuana even in medicinal form, and our cruise guide sets out what seven major lines say.

Neighboring states do not honor Florida cards. Georgia's Department of Public Health says only physician-certified patients and caregivers with an active Georgia Medical Cannabis card may legally possess medical cannabis, and patients must be Georgia residents. In Alabama, possessing marijuana for personal use is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $6,000 fine, and a repeat offense is a Class D felony (Code of Alabama 13A-12-213, 13A-12-214, 13A-5-7, 13A-5-12). Alabama's own program, whose first dispensary opened June 4, 2026, is limited to Alabama residents and bans raw plant material.

Not in national parks. National Park Service regulations prohibit possessing a controlled substance in a park area unless it was obtained directly or by valid prescription or order from a practitioner or is otherwise allowed by federal or state law, and they prohibit being in a park while under the influence to a degree that endangers anyone (36 CFR 2.35(b), (c)). Florida's units include Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park off Miami, Dry Tortugas National Park west of Key West, Big Cypress National Preserve and Canaveral National Seashore, and each unit's laws and policies page points visitors to the superintendent's compendium, most of them also to Title 36.

A Florida card is no clear shield there. No Park Service page we read says whether a treatment center purchase counts as otherwise allowed under that rule, and Florida's own law bars patient use in public places, which on our reading include parks (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b). The April 28, 2026 DEA rule moved FDA-approved marijuana drugs and marijuana under a state medical license to Schedule III and states that any other form remains Schedule I. A non-patient's cannabis is therefore a Schedule I substance on federal land, and simple possession carries up to a year in prison and a $1,000 minimum fine for a first offense (21 U.S.C. 844). On national forest land, including the Ocala, Osceola and Apalachicola, Forest Service rules ban knowingly possessing a controlled substance in violation of federal law (36 CFR 261.10(p)).

Seminole land follows tribal, federal and Florida law: the state's civil and criminal laws apply on all Indian reservations in Florida (s. 285.16). The Seminole Tribe of Florida governs reservations at Big Cypress, Brighton, Fort Pierce, Hollywood, Immokalee and Tampa through a Tribal Council that runs the Seminole Police Department, and its enterprises include the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood at 1 Seminole Way and the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa at 5223 Orient Road. The tribe's website publishes no cannabis rules, and both Florida's drug laws, which apply on reservations as elsewhere in the state (s. 285.16), and federal possession law (21 U.S.C. 844) reach tribal land. The Miccosukee Tribe's website blocked our requests, so its rules are not covered.

State parks are not federal land, but they are open to the public. The Florida Park Service rule limits alcohol to restaurants, lodges and park-sanctioned events and lets the Division prohibit any activity that lessens visitor safety, without naming cannabis (Rule 62D-2.014), while state law treats any public place as off limits for patient use (s. 381.986(1)(k)5.b). Selling or delivering cannabis within 1,000 feet of a state, county or municipal park is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison (s. 893.13(1)(c), 775.082).

Only registered patients and caregivers can receive delivery. Treatment centers may deliver marijuana to qualified patients 24 hours a day, even though they may not dispense from their stores between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. (s. 381.986(8)(f)4). The OMMU tells patients that if no treatment center operates in their city, they can still fill an order by contacting one and arranging delivery. A visitor without a Florida card cannot order at all, because treatment centers may provide marijuana or a delivery device only to a qualified patient or that patient's caregiver (OMMU General FAQ).

Deliveries follow strict transport rules. Every vehicle must carry a manifest generated from the seed-to-sale system listing the recipient's name and address and the quantity and form of product, the product must be locked in a separate compartment, at least two people must be in the vehicle, one of whom stays with it during each drop-off, and the recipient signs a copy of the manifest (s. 381.986(8)(g)). The statute does not limit the delivery address to a home, so a hotel drop-off depends on the treatment center's policy and the hotel's rules; ask both first.

Unlicensed delivery is a crime. Apps, social media sellers and so-called gift services that bring cannabis to a visitor are not treatment centers, and anyone who sells or distributes marijuana without a license violates s. 893.13 (s. 381.986(12)(j)); even delivering 20 grams or less without payment is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 893.13(3)). Selling counterfeit products presented as coming from a licensed center is a third-degree felony (s. 381.986(12)(k)). Online hemp sellers face the same age rule as shops: no ingestible or inhalable hemp extract to anyone under 21 (s. 581.217(7)(d)).

No. Florida allows no home cultivation for anyone, patients included. The OMMU says Florida law allows only licensed treatment centers to grow, process and dispense marijuana and that it refers anyone suspected of violating state law to local police. A patient or caregiver who cultivates violates s. 893.13 and faces its penalties, and the department may revoke that person's registration (s. 381.986(5)(f), (12)(d)). Medical use also excludes possessing marijuana seeds (s. 381.986(1)(k)2), so there is no legal way to start plants.

The criminal exposure is serious. Cultivating and growing are part of the definition of manufacture in chapter 893 (s. 893.02), and manufacturing cannabis is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine (s. 893.13(1)(a)2, 775.082, 775.083). Possessing 300 or more cannabis plants, or more than 25 pounds of cannabis, is trafficking, a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum of 3 years and a $25,000 fine (s. 893.135(1)(a)). A seedling or cutting counts as a plant once it shows readily observable root formation, such as root hairs.

Lawmakers have tried and failed to change this. Senate Bill 776 of 2026, Home Cultivation of Marijuana, died in the Health Policy committee on March 13, 2026, along with Senate Bill 1398, which would have created an adult-use market. Hemp follows its own track: cultivating hemp in Florida requires a license from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, issued only after the applicant submits fingerprints for state and FBI background checks (s. 581.217(5)).

It is not taxed at the register. Florida exempts marijuana and marijuana delivery devices, as the medical marijuana statute defines them, from the sales and use taxes imposed under chapter 212 (s. 212.08(2)(l)), and no cannabis excise appears in the statutes read for this guide. A patient therefore pays the treatment center's posted price. Each treatment center must publish on its website every product it sells, with its THC and CBD content and the price of a 30-day, 50-day and 70-day supply at a standard dose, plus the price of each delivery device (s. 381.986(8)(i)).

Program costs fall elsewhere. The registry card costs $75 a year, plus a $2.75 convenience fee online and $15 for a replacement card (OMMU; Rule 64-4.011), and the department sends $10 of each card fee to Florida A&M University's Division of Research for education about medical marijuana (s. 381.986(7)(d)). The constitution says no health insurer or government agency must reimburse anyone for medical marijuana (Art. X, s. 29(c)(7)), and the statute adds that marijuana is not reimbursable under workers' compensation (s. 381.986(15)(f)).

Hemp products are a separate case. CBD and other hemp extract goods sold in smoke shops, gas stations and grocery stores are not marijuana as s. 381.986 defines it, so the medical exemption does not reach them, and Florida's 6 percent state sales tax applies to taxable retail sales of tangible goods (s. 212.05(1)(a)1.a). Hemp extract is also subject to the food, dairy and feed laws in chapters 500, 502 and 580 (s. 581.217(7)(c)), which govern safety and labeling rather than the tax rate.

No. The OMMU's FAQ says plainly that Florida does not offer reciprocity and that its treatment centers fill orders only for qualified Florida patients and caregivers whose orders a qualified physician has entered in the registry. The statute defines a qualified patient as a resident of Florida added to the registry by a qualified physician who holds a patient identification card (s. 381.986(1)(m)), and cards go only to residents (s. 381.986(7)(a)). A card from another state, or a doctor's letter, gives no legal cover in Florida, and marijuana bought elsewhere is outside medical use even for a Florida patient (s. 381.986(1)(k)1).

Seasonal residents are the exception visitors ask about. A person who lives in Florida at least 31 consecutive days each calendar year, keeps a temporary residence here, returns home at least once a year and votes or pays income tax elsewhere may register by submitting two proofs of a Florida address, such as a deed or lease, a utility bill no more than 2 months old, or bank or government mail (s. 381.986(5)(b)). The first certification requires an in-person physical exam by a Florida qualified physician; later renewals may use telehealth (s. 381.986(4)(a)1).

Qualifying conditions are set by statute: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, PTSD, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, conditions of the same kind or class, a terminal condition diagnosed by a second physician, and chronic nonmalignant pain caused by or originating from one of those conditions (s. 381.986(2)). The physician must re-evaluate an existing patient at least once every 30 weeks before issuing a new certification and may certify no more than three 70-day supplies at a time (s. 381.986(4)(f), (g)). This guide gives no medical advice.

The program is large and still changing. The OMMU counted 942,370 qualified patients with active ID cards on October 9, 2026. Since July 27, 2026 the registry blocks initial and renewal card applications from patients without current or scheduled certifications with open orders. Chapter 2025-204, effective July 1, 2025, requires the department to revoke the registration of a patient or caregiver convicted of, or pleading guilty or no contest to, trafficking, sale, manufacture, delivery or possession with intent, in cases disposed of on or after that date.

Possession without a card is the most common charge, and the form matters as much as the weight. Possessing 20 grams or less of plant cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to 1 year in jail and a $1,000 fine; more than 20 grams, or any amount of resin or a resin product such as a concentrate, vape oil or extract-infused edible, is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $5,000 fine (s. 893.13(6)(a) and (b), 775.082, 775.083); compliant hemp products are not cannabis under chapter 893 (s. 893.02(3)). Officers may arrest without a warrant for cannabis possession (s. 893.13(6)(e)), and possessing drug paraphernalia for illegal cannabis is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 893.147(1)).

Sharing and selling escalate quickly. Handing someone 20 grams or less without payment is a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 893.13(3)), but selling, manufacturing or delivering cannabis, or possessing it with intent to sell, is a third-degree felony (s. 893.13(1)(a)2). Within 1,000 feet of a school or child care facility between 6 a.m. and midnight, or of a park, community center or public recreational facility at any time, the same act is a second-degree felony with up to 15 years in prison (s. 893.13(1)(c)2, 775.082). More than 25 pounds or 300 plants is trafficking, with a 3-year mandatory minimum and a $25,000 fine (s. 893.135(1)(a)).

A conviction reaches beyond the fine. An adult convicted of possessing or selling a controlled substance faces a court-ordered 6-month suspension of the driver license or driving privilege, unless the court finds a compelling reason to allow a business-purposes license (s. 322.055(1)). Florida patients charged with any chapter 893 offense have their registration suspended until the case ends, and lose it on a trafficking, sale, manufacture or delivery conviction (s. 381.986(5)(d)). A patient who uses in public or in a vehicle commits a first-degree misdemeanor (s. 381.986(12)(c)).

Some counties and cities offer civil citations for small amounts, at the officer's discretion. Miami-Dade County lists a $100 civil violation notice for 20 grams or less (Code 21-81(d)(6), 8CC-10); Orlando's code citation costs $100 for a first offense and $200 for a second, with a court hearing after that, or 8 hours of education or community service instead (Code 43.95, 5.19); Tampa's covers plant cannabis only, at $75, $150, $300 and $450 (Code 14-62, 23.5-5); Monroe County charges $100 for an uncontested citation (Code 17-7); and Hillsborough County's cannabis ordinance provides civil citations with fines set by board resolution (Code 36-538, 36-539).

Check the OMMU's list. The Department of Health's Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers page lists 49 licensed treatment centers, 25 with dispensing authorization and 24 still at initial licensure, plus a table of 782 approved dispensing locations with company, street address, city, ZIP code and county. The October 9, 2026 weekly update gives the same 782 total, led by Trulieve with 170 locations, MÜV with 86 and Curaleaf with 79. Florida licenses the company rather than each store, so the license number to look for is the parent company's MMTC number, such as MMTC-2015-0005 for Trulieve.

More companies are on the way. On September 11, 2026 the department entered final orders licensing applicants from its April 2023 batching cycle, and the OMMU list now shows 22 licenses numbered MMTC-2026-0029 to MMTC-2026-0050, all at initial licensure; the letter we read says each license runs 2 years from that date. A new licensee needs cultivation, processing and dispensing authorizations before it can sell (OMMU weekly update). During the week of October 2 to 8, 2026, the department approved no new dispensing locations.

A licensed store follows rules a hemp shop does not. Treatment centers must verify the registry and the patient's ID card before every sale, record each dispensation, keep products out of the waiting area, and sell only marijuana and the delivery devices a physician certified, never other cannabis, alcohol or papers made with tobacco or hemp (s. 381.986(8)(e)16, (f)3). Outdoor signs may show only the business name or a department-approved trade name or logo (s. 381.986(8)(h)). Counterfeit products passed off as a licensed center's are a third-degree felony (s. 381.986(12)(k)).

Hemp shops sell a different product with its own limits. Florida hemp extract must test at no more than 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC, carry a scannable code linked to a certificate of analysis, list the milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving, avoid packaging attractive to children, and go only to buyers 21 and older (s. 581.217(7); Rule 5K-4.034). Florida's hemp statute was last amended in 2023, and the 2026 hemp and THC drink bills died. Federal law changes November 12, 2026, when products over 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container stop counting as hemp, a change limited until December 11, 2026 to products containing cannabinoids the plant cannot produce naturally (Pub. L. 119-37, s. 781; Pub. L. 119-103, s. 2019).