Florida legislators are moving quickly to make medical cannabis more affordable for the state’s military veterans. The House Health and Human Services Committee passed HB 887 in a unanimous 22 to 0 vote on February 24, 2026, advancing a bill that would reduce the cost of a medical cannabis registry identification card for honorably discharged veterans from $75 to just $15.
The legislation is sponsored by Republican Representatives Susan Valdés and Michelle Salzman and has now cleared three separate House committees without a single dissenting vote. A companion Senate bill, SB 1032, sponsored by Senator Alexis Calatayud, is advancing simultaneously and goes even further by expanding supply limits for all medical marijuana patients statewide.
What the Bill Does
Under HB 887, any veteran who has received an honorable discharge would qualify for the reduced $15 rate. The discounted fee applies not just to new applications but also to replacement cards and annual renewals. To qualify, veterans must provide the Florida Department of Health with a copy of their DD214 discharge form, a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs identification card, or a Florida driver’s license bearing the veteran designation. If signed into law, the changes would take effect on July 1, 2026.
Representative Valdés summed up the intent of the bill before the committee vote: “Medical cannabis has shown promise in alleviating symptoms commonly experienced by our military veterans, like managing chronic pain, alleviating the effects of PTSD, improving sleep, and reducing the dependency on opioids. This bill will largely reduce the financial barriers that veterans face when accessing the card.”
Florida currently has more than 931,000 registered medical marijuana patients, making it one of the largest state cannabis programs in the country. The exact number of veterans currently enrolled in the program is unknown, but the Florida Department of Health acknowledges that the reduced fee will have a positive fiscal impact for qualifying veterans, who will see a $60 reduction in card costs.
The Senate Bill Goes Further
The Senate companion measure would not only cut veteran fees to $15 but also expand how much cannabis a physician can recommend at one time. Under current Florida law, doctors can recommend a maximum of three 70 day supply limits for non smokable cannabis products and six 35 day supply limits for smokable marijuana. SB 1032 would raise those ceilings to five 70 day supplies and ten 35 day supplies, respectively. The bill would also extend the patient evaluation requirement from every 30 weeks to every 52 weeks, reducing the burden on both patients and physicians.
Why This Matters
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that between 11 and 20 percent of veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom experience PTSD in any given year. Many veterans also deal with chronic pain, traumatic brain injury, and sleep disorders. Cannabis has emerged as a meaningful treatment option for many in the veteran community, and cost has consistently been one of the primary barriers to access.
Florida is home to more than 1.5 million military veterans, one of the largest veteran populations in the country. A $60 reduction in the cost of a medical cannabis card may seem incremental, but at scale, it represents a significant policy shift toward health equity for those who served.
Other Florida Cannabis Bills in Motion
The veteran fee legislation is just one piece of a much larger cannabis policy conversation happening in Tallahassee right now. A separate House bill would legalize recreational marijuana and restructure business licensing to break up what sponsors describe as monopolies in the current medical program. Another bill would protect the parental rights of medical cannabis patients, preventing them from losing custody or visitation rights for using their medicine in accordance with state law. Additional legislation would allow doctors to recommend cannabis to any patient who has already been prescribed opioids, and a Senate sponsored bill would legalize home cultivation for registered medical patients.
On the broader legalization front, the Smart and Safe Florida campaign is continuing to fight through legal challenges in its effort to place an adult use legalization measure on the 2026 ballot. Recent polling has shown 67 percent of Florida voters support full legalization, including 55 percent of Republicans, suggesting the appetite for expanded access is broadly shared across party lines.
What This Means for Cannabis Businesses
For dispensaries operating in Florida, expanding veteran access is both a policy development and a market opportunity. As the cost barrier drops and more veterans enter the program, operators who have built genuine relationships with the veteran community will be best positioned to serve them. That means investing now in education, staff training, and targeted outreach that speaks directly to what veterans are looking for from a cannabis provider.
The broader legislative picture in Florida reinforces what many in the industry already know: the market is expanding, access is widening, and the businesses that grow alongside those changes will be the ones that are prepared for them in advance.
