New Proposal Would Let Qualified Medical Marijuana Patients Cultivate Limited Plants at Home
A newly filed bill in the Florida Legislature would, for the first time, give certain medical marijuana patients permission to grow cannabis plants at home—an idea patient advocates have pushed for years in a state where legal medical cannabis is currently obtained only through licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs).
The proposal, Senate Bill 776, was filed December 5, 2025, by Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith (D-Orlando). Titled “Home Cultivation of Marijuana,” the bill would authorize qualified patients age 21 and older to cultivate cannabis at their residence strictly for personal, noncommercial purposes. The legislation sets a cap of up to six flowering cannabis plants per qualified patient at any given time.
In addition to allowing home grows, SB 776 would permit eligible patients to purchase medical marijuana seeds and clones from licensed MMTCs, a provision aimed at keeping the genetics and supply chain tied to Florida’s regulated medical system even if cultivation occurs at home.
The filed bill text includes guardrails intended to address diversion and safety concerns. It requires a patient who cultivates cannabis to take specified precautions to prevent access by unauthorized persons, and it states that personal consumption of home-cultivated cannabis remains subject to Florida’s existing statutory limits governing the medical use or administration of marijuana. The bill also provides that selling patient-cultivated cannabis—or cultivating beyond the allowed limits—would be subject to penalties under Florida law.
Procedurally, SB 776 has already moved into the committee track. On December 16, 2025, the bill was referred to the Senate Health Policy Committee, the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and Fiscal Policy, according to legislative tracking information.
Florida currently does not allow home cultivation for medical marijuana patients. The state’s program operates through a tightly regulated “seed-to-sale” structure that places cultivation, processing, and retail dispensing inside the MMTC license framework. Supporters of home grow argue that limited cultivation could improve access for some patients—particularly those on fixed incomes—by offering an alternative to retail pricing and by providing a backup option during product shortages or when specific strains are hard to find consistently in stores.
Opponents of home grow have traditionally raised concerns about enforcement, youth access, and diversion into illicit markets—issues that have surfaced in prior Florida debates over similar proposals and are expected to reemerge as SB 776 advances through committee hearings.
The bill also arrives as Florida continues to recalibrate cannabis policy following the November 2024 election, when a proposed adult-use legalization amendment won a majority but fell short of the state’s 60% threshold for passage. With adult-use legalization stalled, patient-focused reforms—including access and program design questions—have drawn renewed attention heading into the 2026 session.
SB 776 lists an effective date of July 1, 2026, meaning any change would still require passage during the 2026 legislative session and the governor’s signature—and lawmakers could amend key details such as plant limits, eligibility, and compliance requirements along the way.