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This is The Drug Report’s Friday Fact report - Florida & Major Counties Report Sharp Rises in Marijuana Poison Exposures After Medical Marijuana Legalization

From 2016 to 2023, Florida’s Poison Control Centers collected poison exposure data throughout the state, reported on a county level. This report focuses on all types of marijuana poison exposures statewide and in Florida’s six most populous counties. The types of marijuana poison exposures included edibles, dried plants, concentrated extracts, synthetic marijuana, and other or unknown types of marijuana. These exposures were summed to get the total number of marijuana poison exposures. Of note, instances where the type of marijuana exposure in a county had fewer than 10 cases were excluded, as these were reported as “<10 cases” rather than the actual number.

On June 23, 2017, Florida officially legalized medical marijuana. As a result, between 2017 and 2023, Florida and its six most populous counties had an increase in marijuana poison exposures: 

• Florida (State): Increase of 141% 

• Broward County: Increase of 332% 

• Palm Beach County: Increase of 321% 

• Orange County: Increase of 280% 

• Duval County: Increase of 116% 

• Hillsborough County: Increase of 116% 

• Miami-Dade County: Increase of 62% 

This November, Floridians will be voting on an industry-funded ballot measure to legalize marijuana that requires more than 60% of the vote to pass. The data and science are clear: the legalization of marijuana is associated with numerous harms to public health and safety.

Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) is an alliance of organizations and individuals dedicated to a health-first approach to marijuana policy. We are professionals working in mental health and public health. We are bipartisan. We are medical doctors, lawmakers, treatment providers, preventionists, teachers, law enforcement officers and others who seek a middle road between incarceration and legalization. Our commonsense, third-way approach to marijuana policy is based on reputable science and sound principles of public health and safety.