Permanently disabled from a car crash that injured her back, Morris, 53, moved from Florida to Colorado after voters here rejected a medical marijuana referendum in 2012. She left her children and grandchildren with a hunch that access to medical cannabis in Colorado would work better than the opiates that had turned her into a "zombie."

"From that day on, my quality of life changed," she said. "I started doing walks around the park. I started feeling better about life. I'm able to talk and be alert and do things and even go back to school to earn my bachelor's."

Now Morris is back in Florida, where medical marijuana recently became legal. On Thursday, the Port Richey resident was one of the first patients in Hillsborough County's second medical marijuana dispensary.

Debates have begun to put voter-approved medical pot into state law and patients' hands.

State senators and officials with the Florida Department of Health have rolled out their initial plans to enact Amendment 2, which was supported by 71 percent of voters in November, and House leaders are finalizing their own ideas.

But they have already earned criticism from advocacy groups who say the state's plans are falling short of what voters intended.

Ben Pollara, who ran the medical marijuana campaign and is now lobbying the Legislature's implementation of it said DOH rules are "in direct contradiction" of Amendment 2 and that the Senate is off to "an encouraging start."

A key Florida senator Thursday released the Legislature's first attempt at carrying out a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana, with the proposal calling for a growing number of marijuana licenses and making it easier for doctors to order the treatment for patients.

The bill by Sen. Rob Bradley, who was instrumental in passage of medical-marijuana laws in 2014 and 2016, came days after health officials published proposed regulations to implement the constitutional amendment, which received more than 71 percent approval from voters in November.

If Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for drug czar, marijuana advocates might not be as disappointed as they imagine.

True, in 2014 Bondi went all out trying to keep John Morgan's medical marijuana initiative off Florida’s ballot. It didn't work, Floridians voted on the initiative anyway, but it only received 57.6 percent of the vote, falling short of the 60 percent constitutional amendments need to win.

By 2016 Bondi had thought it through. She could have done it again -- hard-charged after the amendment, working to kill it before the ballots were printed. 

Opponents of the constitutional amendment allowing medical use of marijuana ran some scary TV spots last year, warning that pot shops would pop up near schools, peddling pot-infused candies to kids.

Supporters of the amendment – who prevailed by a comfortable margin at the polls – patiently insisted that they wanted to let doctors prescribe cannabis under controlled circumstances to help terribly ill people for whom benefits outweigh any risks.

It’s been a long struggle. The Legislature authorized use of a “non-euphoric” form of non-smoking marijuana a couple years ago, for patients with severe seizures. More recently, it permitted full-strength cannabis for terminally ill patients, those thought to have less than a year to live.

Vials of cannabis-laced sprays, lotions and tinctures line display shelves a few steps from handbags specially designed to tote marijuana products.

A stylish kitchenette and table is on the opposite side of this Surterra Wellness Center medical marijuana showroom, space used to host educational sessions on the merits of the drug - something legal only under very strict circumstances in Florida until Amendment 2 took effect last week.

This 2,000-square-foot storefront, one of a handful of Florida dispensaries that have opened in recent months, looks more like a day spa lobby or high-end salon. Nothing about it evokes images of the seedy bong-filled pot shops of popular imagination.

Florida patients who qualify for medical marijuana under a voter-approved constitutional amendment can start purchasing cannabis treatments in as little as 90 days, according to the state's top pot cop.

Whether patients would be able to start buying medical marijuana before the Department of Health approves rules to carry out the amendment --- a process that could take at least six months --- has been a source of confusion for many doctors, patients and businesses.

2016 is a year that will live in infamy, but one clear winner across the board was cannabis. The United States watched as eight more states legalized cannabis for medical or recreational purposes, and the ripple effect of legalization has been felt throughout the globe. 

Revel in these states' and countries' cannabis victories and look to the future with renewed optimism. What will 2017 bring? We can't wait to find out! 

Arkansas and Florida start moving toward voter-approved medical marijuana systems, Massachusetts activists push for greater patient access, and more.

Medical marijuana is officially legal in Florida. Supported by 71 percent of voters in the November election, Amendment 2 allows the use of full-strength marijuana for an array of diseases and conditions. It's now up to the Legislature and the Florida Department of Health to establish a functional framework for producing and distributing the drug to patients in pain — and there should be no stonewalling in Tallahassee.