A Leon County circuit judge will hold a non-jury trial in May about whether a state ban on smoking medical marijuana violates a 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized cannabis for patients with a wide range of health conditions.
Judge Karen Gievers issued an order Thursday setting the trial for May 16, according to a document posted on the clerk of court’s website.
The 2016 constitutional amendment is expected to make medical marijuana available to hundreds of thousands of patients. The Legislature in June passed a law to carry out the constitutional amendment, which was largely bankrolled by Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan.
The law bans smoking medical marijuana, though patients can use the substances through other methods. Morgan and a group he has helped lead, People United for Medical Marijuana, filed the lawsuit arguing the smoking ban violates the constitutional amendment.
