SB 2514: Florida Patients Can Lose Medical Marijuana Cards if Charged With a Crime

16 July 2025

As of July 1, 2025, a new Florida law is reshaping the state’s medical marijuana landscape. Senate Bill 2514, quietly embedded in a broader Health and Human Services bill, grants the Florida Department of Health sweeping authority to suspend or revoke medical marijuana cards from patients or caregivers charged or convicted of certain drug offenses — even without a conviction.

This change affects approximately 920,000 Floridians who currently rely on medical cannabis for conditions ranging from epilepsy to PTSD. Advocates argue that this law undermines the constitutional right to medical marijuana, approved by over 70% of Florida voters in 2016.

Under the new statute, patients can lose their registration upon being charged, a standard significantly lower than the legal threshold of conviction. Critics see this as a harsh and disproportionate policy, especially in light of how driving privileges, for instance, are often reinstated after a suspension period.

Governor Ron DeSantis and his allies defend the law as a necessary safeguard against abuse, with Republican Party Chair Evan Power labeling medical marijuana access a “privilege” rather than a right.

While enforcement details remain vague, doctors and dispensaries fear the consequences. Meanwhile, attention is shifting to 2026, when voters may once again head to the polls — this time to decide whether Florida should legalize recreational cannabis for adults. If that initiative succeeds, many of the restrictions under SB 2514 could be rendered obsolete.

For now, however, Florida’s medical cannabis patients are left in limbo — facing the very real threat of losing access to critical treatment based not on evidence or court rulings, but on mere accusations.