Lawmakers kill THC cap for medical marijuana

TALLAHASSEE — In the waning hours of the 2020 legislative session, a contentious provision that would have established a potency cap of 10% THC for medical marijuana patients under 21 has died.

After being stripped out of a larger healthcare bill in the Florida Senate on Friday afternoon, the House unanimously passed a version of the bill without the controversial cap.

THC is the main psychoactive compound in marijuana, and can be found in whole-flower marijuana, tinctures, oils, vaporizers and edibles. Smokable cannabis now being sold by the state’s medical marijuana treatment centers has potency as high as 30%.

Capping THC was a priority of House Speaker José Oliva, R-Miami Lakes, who has said on several occasions that the chemical in medical marijuana could “possibly be detrimental to a young brain.”

The idea was not so well-received in the more moderate Senate, however. Some Republicans, like Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, even spoke out against the idea, warning that capping THC levels would make life worse for many veterans who use medical marijuana to cope with issues like like post-traumatic stress disorder.