Florida (USA) approved expanding the medicinal use of marijuana to terminally ill patients, and adjusted the legal framework to allow more organizations cultivation and distribution of grass.
The bill, which will be the signature of the governor of Florida, Rick Scott, was approved by the Senate with 28 votes in favor and 11 against. The legislation had already been vetted by the House of Representatives.
The initiative extends a 2014 standard and thus allows patients with just one more year of life can buy medical marijuana in any of the five clinics and nurseries approved last November by the Florida Department of Health.
However, none of the patients has so far benefited from medical marijuana, as several of the organizations that failed to licenses for this industry filed lawsuits in the courts when considering "a monopoly" authorization only five and have stalled deal.
The new law paves the way for more organizations to obtain permits for the cultivation and distribution of medical marijuana, specifically authorizes the state to pass three more clinics once qualified patients exceeds 250,000.
The measure, however, may be changed to be approved in November a referendum to legalize medical marijuana in Florida for a wider spectrum of diseases.