Florida Medical Marijuana Qualifying Conditions

What Are the Qualifying Conditions for a Florida Medical Marijuana Card?

Florida Statute §381.986(2) enumerates ten qualifying conditions: cancer, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV, AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, ALS, Crohn's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis. The statute also covers comparable-class conditions under §381.986(2)(k), terminal conditions under §381.986(2)(l), and chronic nonmalignant pain originating from a qualifying condition under §381.986(2)(m). Access date 2026-06-01.

Why Florida's Qualifying-Conditions List Matters

If you live in Florida and you are trying to determine whether your medical condition qualifies for the state medical marijuana program, the answer turns on Fla. Stat. §381.986(2). Florida runs one of the broadest enumerated qualifying-condition lists in the Southeast and combines it with a comparable-class clause that lets a qualified physician certify conditions of the same kind or class as those enumerated. Miracle Leaf® Florida physicians evaluate patients across the state under §381.986 with in-clinic initial visits and telehealth renewals.

Book your Florida in-clinic evaluation.

Prefer to start with a clinic walkthrough? Read the Florida medical marijuana card page first.

What the OMMU Program Actually Is

Florida's medical cannabis program is administered by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), a division of the Florida Department of Health. OMMU runs the Medical Marijuana Use Registry, where certifying physicians enter qualifying-condition certifications and where patient registry IDs are issued. Florida operates a broad medical program: flower, edibles, vapes, oils, and tinctures are permitted, with smokable flower capped at 2.5 ounces per 35-day supply under §381.986(8) and edibles capped at 200 mg THC per product and 10 mg THC per serving.

Florida differs from Georgia and Texas on several axes. Florida requires an in-person initial certification visit under §381.986(4)(a) before any telehealth renewal becomes available. The OMMU patient registry ID card is valid for one year and renews annually with a $77.75 fee ($75 statutory base plus $2.75 online Bill2Pay convenience fee). The qualified physician must recertify the qualifying condition every 210 days under §381.986(4)(b)(8). Two parallel cycles, one card, one recertification.

A Florida-qualified physician evaluates two things at certification. First, whether your clinical records demonstrate one of the ten conditions enumerated in §381.986(2), or a comparable-class condition under §381.986(2)(k), or chronic nonmalignant pain caused by a qualifying condition under §381.986(2)(m). Second, whether your residency documentation satisfies the registry. Florida requires proof of residency at the application step; seasonal residents may apply using a Florida temporary address.

Patients who arrive with primary records sorted (clinic notes, imaging or lab results, current medication list) move through the certification process faster and reach the dispensary with a stronger plan.

Florida Qualifying Conditions Under §381.986(2)

Per Fla. Stat. §381.986(2), the qualifying-conditions list for the Florida medical marijuana program enumerates ten conditions (paragraphs (a) through (j)) plus three additional categories under paragraphs (k), (l), and (m). Click any condition card to read the full clinical-evidence summary on the Qualifying Conditions hub.

Cancer. §381.986(2)(a). Group of diseases involving uncontrolled cell growth. Cannabinoids have conclusive or substantial evidence as antiemetics in chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting per the 2017 NASEM consensus report, and moderate evidence for sleep disturbance among cancer patients. Learn about cannabis for cancer.

Epilepsy. §381.986(2)(b). Neurological condition involving recurrent unprovoked seizures. Cannabidiol has strong evidence for reducing seizure frequency in Dravet syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, and tuberous sclerosis complex, and is FDA-approved as Epidiolex for those three indications. Learn about cannabis for seizure disorders.

Glaucoma. §381.986(2)(c). Group of eye conditions involving optic nerve damage and elevated intraocular pressure. Cannabis evidence for glaucoma is limited and short-acting; cannabis lowers intraocular pressure only for a few hours per dose, which does not meet the continuous-coverage clinical requirement. The condition remains statutorily enumerated. See the qualifying conditions hub.

Positive status for HIV. §381.986(2)(d). Viral infection that progressively weakens the immune system. Cannabinoids have moderate evidence for improving appetite and weight gain in HIV-associated wasting per NASEM 2017. Learn about cannabis for HIV/AIDS.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). §381.986(2)(e). Advanced HIV disease characterized by severe immune system damage. Cannabinoids have moderate evidence for managing appetite, weight, and nausea symptoms in AIDS patients. Learn about cannabis for HIV/AIDS.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). §381.986(2)(f). Trauma- and stressor-related disorder following exposure to combat, assault, accident, or violence. The 2017 NASEM report found limited evidence that nabilone improves PTSD-related sleep outcomes; broader symptom-relief evidence remains limited. Florida veterans are a primary patient cohort. Learn about cannabis for PTSD.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). §381.986(2)(g). Progressive neurodegenerative disease destroying motor neurons. Cannabis evidence is limited and symptomatic (spasticity, sleep, pain, appetite), not disease-modifying. Learn about cannabis for ALS.

Crohn's disease. §381.986(2)(h). Chronic inflammatory bowel disease affecting any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. Cannabis has limited evidence for symptomatic improvement (pain, sleep, appetite) but no evidence for inducing or maintaining clinical remission. Learn about cannabis for Crohn's disease.

Parkinson's disease. §381.986(2)(i). Progressive neurodegenerative disorder affecting movement. Cannabis evidence is limited and symptomatic (tremor, sleep, pain), with no demonstrated disease-modifying effect. Learn about cannabis for Parkinson's disease.

Multiple sclerosis (MS). §381.986(2)(j). Demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. The 2017 NASEM report found substantial evidence that oral cannabinoids improve patient-reported MS spasticity. Learn about cannabis for MS spasticity.

In addition to the ten enumerated conditions, Florida statute provides three further pathways:

Comparable-class clause. §381.986(2)(k) covers medical conditions of the same kind or class as or comparable to those enumerated in paragraphs (a) through (j). A qualified physician determines comparability based on clinical similarity to the enumerated conditions. Bring complete clinical records to support a comparable-class certification.

Terminal condition. §381.986(2)(l) provides a separate pathway for a terminal condition diagnosed by a physician other than the qualified physician issuing the certification. Terminal-condition patients also unlock additional caregiver provisions under §381.986(6).

Chronic nonmalignant pain. §381.986(2)(m), defined at §381.986(1)(c) as pain that is caused by a qualifying medical condition or that originates from a qualifying medical condition and persists beyond the usual course of that qualifying medical condition. Chronic nonmalignant pain is not a standalone qualifier; the pain must trace back to a qualifying condition.

Miracle Leaf® physicians review Florida patients against this enumerated list, the comparable-class clause, and the chronic-nonmalignant-pain pathway at every certification visit. In-clinic initial visits are required under §381.986(4)(a); telehealth renewals are available after the in-person relationship is established.

In-Clinic Versus Telehealth in Florida

Florida is the in-clinic-first state for medical cannabis certification. Per §381.986(4)(a), the initial qualifying-condition certification requires an in-person evaluation by the Florida-qualified physician. After that in-person relationship is established, subsequent recertification visits (the 210-day cadence under §381.986(4)(b)(8)) may be conducted by telehealth under current OMMU rules.

That is why Miracle Leaf® schedules Florida initial evaluations in-clinic at one of our locations across North Florida, Central Florida, and South Florida. Call (833) LEGAL-MJ to coordinate. Once your in-clinic initial is on file, recertification visits can move to a telehealth format if you prefer.

For comparison: Georgia runs telehealth-primary under the Low-THC Oil Patient Registry. Texas runs telehealth-primary through the Compassionate Use Registry of Texas. Florida is the outlier requiring in-person initial certification.

Sources for Florida Qualifying Conditions

• Fla. Stat. §381.986, Medical use of marijuana. State .gov primary statute (qualifying conditions enumerated at subsection (2), paragraphs (a) through (m); chronic-nonmalignant-pain definition at subsection (1)(c)).
• Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), Florida Department of Health. State .gov program administrator (patient registry, physician registry, fee schedule).
• Florida Department of Health, Medical Marijuana Use Registry. State .gov patient registry portal.
• Fla. Stat. §893.13, prohibited acts. State .gov adult-use penalty statute (recreational possession penalty structure).
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, The Health Effects of Cannabis and Cannabinoids (2017). nationalacademies.org (source: peer-reviewed consensus report).

Related Florida Medical Cannabis Resources

• Qualifying conditions hub for the full Miracle Leaf® condition library across all states.
• Florida medical marijuana card for the full OMMU application walkthrough.
• Florida card renewal for the annual renewal cycle and the 210-day physician recertification.
• Florida marijuana laws for the recreational penalty structure under §893.13 and the Amendment 3 vote.
• Georgia qualifying conditions for the Low-THC Oil Patient Registry comparison.
• Texas qualifying conditions for the TCUP comparison.
• Florida program details for clinic locations and the full Florida state-program overview.

Ready to Start Your Florida MMJ Card?

Ready to enroll? Call (833) LEGAL-MJ to book an in-clinic Florida evaluation with a Miracle Leaf® Florida-qualified physician, or book online.

Disclaimer

This page is informational and is not medical or legal advice. Florida medical cannabis law is set by Fla. Stat. §381.986 and administered by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use within the Florida Department of Health. Consult a qualified Florida-licensed physician for clinical questions and a licensed Florida attorney for legal questions. Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law, and a Florida OMMU registry card does not protect federal employment, federal contracting, security clearances, or DOT-regulated transportation work.