A medical marijuana caregiver in Florida is an adult Florida resident who has agreed to help a qualified medical marijuana patient obtain and administer medical marijuana. Under Florida marijuana laws, a medical marijuana caregiver is considered a legal representative of a registered patient. A medical marijuana caregiver may be designated by a registered patient under the age of 18 or by a dependent adult of any age who qualifies to use medical marijuana. A registered patient may designate a parent, legal guardian, healthcare surrogate, or an individual with medical power of attorney for the patient, as the medical marijuana caregiver.
Typically, only one medical marijuana caregiver may be designated by a registered patient under the Florida medical marijuana program, except when:
In order to be eligible to be designated as a medical marijuana caregiver in Florida, an individual must:
Application for a caregiver card may be completed online via the medical marijuana use registry or through a paper application. The electronic application is faster as it only takes a few minutes to complete if all required documents are available. Electronic applications also allow for shorter processing times than paper applications. Once a qualified physician has entered an applicant's information in the registry, the applicant may proceed to complete the application and pay the application fee of $75.
To complete a paper application as a medical marijuana caregiver in Florida:
Office of Medical Marijuana Use
Tampa, FL 33631-3313
The OMMU also requires caregivers who are not relatives of the patients they care for, to submit to level 2 background screening. This requires submitting fingerprints that must be retained in the Applicant Fingerprint Retention and Notification Program (AFRNP). There is an annual fee for participating in this program. While the first year is free, each subsequent year costs caregivers $6.
Once your caregiver card application has been approved by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), you may visit a state-approved MMTC (medical marijuana treatment center) to fill an order placed by the registered patient's physician. For more information on applying for a medical marijuana caregiver card in Florida, visit the registry identification cards page or view the application instructional guides on the OMMU website. You may also contact the OMMU by calling (800) 808-9580.
In Florida, caregivers may not receive any compensation beyond the actual expenses incurred in obtaining and administering medical cannabis to registered patients.
A prospective medical marijuana patient in Florida can designate any Florida resident over the age of 21 as a caregiver; however, the resident must agree in writing to help the prospective patient obtain and administer medical marijuana. All approved medical marijuana caregivers in Florida must be registered in the state's medical marijuana use registry. Caregivers may not be chosen from other jurisdictions except within the State of Florida.
A medical marijuana caregiver can purchase the same quantity of medical-grade marijuana as a registered patient. Hence, a medical marijuana caregiver can purchase a 35-day supply of smokable cannabis flower (up to 2.5 ounces) or a 70-day supply of medical marijuana products in other forms, including edibles. A caregiver can purchase and transport medical cannabis without the registered patient. However, the caregiver must be in possession of their caregiver card issued by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use when visiting a dispensary.
It is illegal for medical marijuana caregivers to cultivate marijuana at home in Florida. Caregivers may neither cultivate marijuana for themselves nor the patients they oversee. Per Section 893.13(1) of the Florida Statutes, growing or cultivating marijuana at home is prohibited in Florida.