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Florida Senate passes bill to repeal medical pot smoking ban

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida’s ban on smokable medical marijuana could soon be coming to an end.

The Senate voted 34-4 Thursday for a bill that would allow patients to use smokable forms of the plant.

The vote was one of the first actions the Senate took during the 60-day session that began Tuesday.

Voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, but lawmakers banned smokable forms of the plant in a bill signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2017. The state was sued over the issue, and a judge declared the ban unconstitutional. Scott, now a Republican U.S. senator, appealed the ruling.

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said in January that the current law doesn’t represent the will of the voters. He said he’d drop the appeal if lawmakers didn’t repeal it.

The House will vote on its version of the bill next week.