A Medical Marijuana Card isn’t the only way to purchase legal marijuana in Florida.
If you have children under 18 who are eligible for medical marijuana or if you care for someone eligible in a medical capacity, you can apply to become a Medical Marijuana Caregiver for them. This allows you to buy, possess, transport and administer marijuana to a qualified medical marijuana patient.
The Medical Marijuana Caregiver ID Card is identical to a standard Medical Marijuana Card but it has “CAREGIVER” in red across the bottom of your picture and the specific patient’s name on the front under yours. With this card, you may visit or order from dispensaries and buy marijuana for the person in your charge. The card does not allow you to buy or use marijuana yourself.
Here’s how to get one.
According to the state’s Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), a caregiver must:
You cannot be a caregiver if:
It isn’t difficult if you qualify, but there are a few extra steps compared to the regular Medical Marijuana card.
Approval normally takes about 10 business days, although applications for caregiver status if you are not a close relative to the patient will take longer. You also may apply by mail.
Caregivers may transport patients to marijuana dispensaries, go inside with them and assist with the transaction, purchase and transport it if the patient is unable to, and prepare marijuana for the patient’s use.
Caregivers are required for patients under 18 years of age, who may not buy marijuana even if qualified for a card.
$75. You’ll be charged again every time you renew.
If you are required to get a background screening there will be an annual charge of $6 to retain your fingerprints in the Applicant Fingerprint Retention and Notification Program (AFRNP), but this is waived for the first year.
According to the OMMU, a patient may only have one caregiver unless the patient is a minor or has an intellectual or developmental disability that prevents the patient from being able to protect or care for himself or herself without help or supervision, and then the parents or legal guardians may be caregivers.
Exceptions are also made if the patient is in a hospice program or participating in a research program under certain conditions.
Caregivers may only be designated for one patient each unless they are the parent or legal guardian of more than one qualified minor or person with an intellectual or developmental disability as described above, if they work at a hospice and have been requested by multiple patients there, or if all of the qualified patients the caregiver has agreed to assist are participating in a research program.
As of March 2024, the state’s Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use lists 625 licensed dispensaries in Florida. You can search for one near you at knowthefactsmmj.com/mmtc/#search