On March 4, the Florida House lit its vote board green. HB 887, a bill to cut the medical marijuana ID card fee for honorably discharged veterans from $75 to $15, passed 113 to 0. Its sponsor, Rep. Susan Valdés, described that green board as a way to show veterans how grateful the state is.
The bill went to the Senate Rules Committee that same day, was never heard, and died there when the session ended nine days later.
That was the second year in a row. In 2025, HB 555 from Rep. Alex Andrade would have waived the $75 fee for veterans entirely and moved card renewals from every year to every two years. It passed the House 110 to 0. The Senate indefinitely postponed it on May 3, 2025, and the bill officially died in Senate Fiscal Policy that June without a floor vote.
Two sessions. Two unanimous House votes, 223 to 0 combined. Zero votes on the Senate floor.
Florida calls itself the most veteran-friendly state in the nation. The Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs says so, and counts nearly 1.4 million veterans here. When it comes to medical cannabis, that claim falls apart. Florida offers no discount for veterans in its medical marijuana program. None.
How a Bill Dies in Tallahassee
For readers outside Florida: a bill must pass both chambers to reach the governor. A bill that never makes a committee agenda before the 60-day session ends dies. Nobody has to vote against it.
The Senate had its own versions in 2026. SB 1032, from Sen. Alexis Calatayud, carried the same $15 veteran fee. It cleared the Senate Health Policy Committee 10 to 1 on Feb. 11, then died in the Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services. SB 974, identical to HB 887, died in committee as well.
So one Senate committee did vote, and it voted yes. The full Senate never got the chance.
High Times covered a veteran fee-waiver bill in 2019. Seven years later, Florida veterans are still paying.
What It Costs a Veteran to Stay Legal for Two Years
The House bills dealt with state card fees and renewal schedules. Doctor fees are a separate expense. Here’s what I see Florida patients pay to stay in the program, using estimated physician costs:
- Day 1 — Initial doctor’s certification ($200), state card (75), and online processing fee ($2.75): $277.75
- Month 7 — Physician recertification visit: about $150
- Month 12 — State card renewal, including online processing: $77.75
- Month 14 — Physician recertification visit: about $150
- Month 21 — Physician recertification visit: about $150
Estimated cost of the first 24 months: $805.50, before any cannabis is purchased.
A further $77.75 card renewal at month 24 would bring the payments through that anniversary to $883.25, but that renewal covers the next year of eligibility.
The 2025 bill would have eliminated the state card fee for eligible veterans and extended card renewals to every two years. The 2026 House bill would have saved a veteran $60 on each card issuance or renewal. Most of the cost in this example is doctor visits, and neither House bill would have paid for those. SB 1032 would have reduced required physician evaluations from every 30 weeks to once a year. It died too.
For a veteran on a fixed income, that math can be brutal. According to our records at Veterans Cannabis Care, at least half of the veterans we have tracked over the past five years have allowed their cards to lapse. That’s our organization’s experience, not a statewide figure. From what I see, recurring costs are a serious obstacle to staying in the program.
Florida doesn’t even know how many veterans are in the program. The House staff analysis of HB 887 states that the number of veterans with active cards is unknown. The state publishes weekly how many milligrams of THC each licensed operator dispensed, yet it can’t say how many of its 941,963 active patients (as of Oct. 2) served in the military.
The money is there. A 2023 Department of Health budget request projected a surplus of nearly $61 million for fiscal 2024–25. That was a projection, not a verified current balance. More directly, the 2026 House analysis of HB 887 estimated about $3.32 million in lost revenue in the first fiscal year and concluded that the department could absorb it with existing resources.
Who’s Paying Instead
I’m not a veteran. Veterans have filled my life since childhood. In 2021, I founded Veterans Cannabis Care, a Florida nonprofit that covers the initial doctor visit and state card fee for qualifying veterans. We’ve helped 1,400 veterans obtain their initial certifications at no charge. At an estimated $277.75 in fees per person, that’s $388,850 in costs those veterans didn’t have to shoulder.
My nonprofit shouldn’t have to keep filling a gap the House has voted unanimously, twice, to narrow.
To Florida’s Senators
Here is what I’d say to your faces. Veterans need access to Florida’s medical marijuana program, and they need to be able to afford to stay in it. Cutting the state card fee won’t cover the cost of their cannabis or their doctor visits, but it would remove one recurring barrier lawmakers have already voted twice to reduce.
The House has passed veteran fee relief twice without a single no vote. Your own Health Policy Committee approved the Senate version 10 to 1. Put it on the floor calendar in 2027 and let every senator go on the record.
What Florida Veterans Can Do Now
- Free certification help exists for veterans, including through the nonprofit I run. Ask before you pay.
- Protect your card. Calendar your 210-day physician recertification and annual state card renewal dates so neither lapses.
- Call your state senator before the session. Find yours here. Tell them your branch, your years of service, and what the card costs you.
Veterans Day falls six days before the Florida Senate convenes on Nov. 17 to organize for 2027, and the 2027 session opens March 2. Every Veterans Day brings speeches thanking veterans for their service. The bill that backs up those words is already written, and the House has passed it twice. This time, the Senate should vote.
Contributor Content Disclosure: This opinion piece was written by Robb Harmon, founder of Veterans Cannabis Care, a Florida nonprofit that helps veterans access the state’s medical marijuana program. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of High Times. Figures related to the nonprofit’s work are based on information provided by the author .
