Home Cultivation of Marijuana:
SB 546 would amend Florida’s medical marijuana law to create a home-cultivation option for certain qualified patients. Specifically, a qualified patient who is at least 21 years old could apply to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services for a certificate allowing the patient to grow up to two cannabis plants at the patient’s residence for personal consumption. The bill also directs the department to adopt rules governing issuance, renewal, suspension, replacement, surrender, revocation, inspection, and registration of the plants.
The bill places several limits on cultivation. Plants could not be grown in public view, must be kept in an enclosed and locked space, and may not be accessible to unauthorized persons or anyone under 21. If the residence is leased, the applicant would need documentation showing the property owner consents to cultivation. The bill also limits a residence to no more than two plants total, even if multiple qualified patients live there, and it makes violations a first-degree misdemeanor. In addition, the bill makes a conforming change to the physician-certification provisions in the medical marijuana statute.
SB 546 would expand Florida’s medical marijuana framework by adding a new statutory pathway for limited home cultivation by qualified patients, while shifting regulatory responsibilities to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. It would create new certificate, inspection, and plant-registration procedures and add criminal penalties for noncompliance. The bill would also amend s. 381.986, F.S., to conform a cross-reference in the physician-certification section.
No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no detailed debate record to assess. The bill’s final status indicates it died in the Senate Health Policy committee on June 16, 2025, suggesting it did not advance through the committee process. Based on the text alone, the measure appears to have been a targeted expansion of patient rights within the medical marijuana system, but not one that secured enough support to move forward.
The main points of likely contention are the policy shift toward allowing home cultivation of cannabis, the age threshold of 21, and the regulatory and enforcement structure around certificates, inspections, and criminal penalties. Potential concerns include law enforcement oversight, landlord/property-owner consent, preventing diversion or unauthorized access, and whether home growing should be permitted at all within Florida’s medical marijuana program. Because no transcripts were provided, the specific positions of supporters and opponents are not documented here.