Two Florida lawmakers have filed bills related to legalizing and taxing recreational marijuana in the state.
House Bill 1117 is sponsored by Rep. Michael Grieco (D-Miami Beach) and Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando). Grieco also proposed House Bill 1119, which would impose an excise tax on recreational marijuana.
The bill regarding the legalization of recreational marijuana would allow people 21 and older to purchase and use limited amounts of marijuana in their homes or other private places. Adults 21 and up would be able to purchase no more than 2.5 ounces of the drug at a time. If someone were to smoke the drug in public, they would face a $100 penalty, according to the bill.
The bill regarding the taxing of recreational marijuana would create an excise tax of $50 per ounce, which the cultivation facility would pay, on the sale or transfer of marijuana from a marijuana cultivation facility to a retail marijuana store or marijuana product manufacturing facility. An applicant for a marijuana establishment license would have to pay an application fee that would not exceed $5,000.
"The recreational use of cannabis is currently legal in 10 states, New Jersey soon to be the 11th, with those to be included in the 22 states that have decriminalized small amounts of marijuana" according to a press release from Rep. Michael Grieco's office.
