On January 17, 2019, Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference to announce that he wanted the Florida legislature to change the current law and allow smokable medical marijuana. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I want people to have their suffering relieved.” Further, the Governor stated that if the Legislature should fail to change the law, he was prepared to drop the state’s appeal of a 2017 court decision that says banning it violates a constitutional amendment. The appeal, instituted by former Gov. Rick Scott, banned smoking med marijuana and also limited the number of Florida state dispensaries.