Pot bills progress in House

While adult-use legalization appears to be a nonstarter in 2026, bills changing the way cannabis is regulated are still moving in the Legislature, with potential effects for more than 932,000 medical marijuana card holders in Florida.

Along party lines, the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee advanced by a 10-5 vote Rep. Dean Black’s bill (HB 1003), which looks to close the loop on ambiguous statutory language regarding open medical marijuana containers and give police the right to follow their nose when investigating potentially impaired motorists.

The Jacksonville Republican’s bill would make it easier for law enforcement to have probable cause to search vehicles, stipulating that the “smell” of cannabis constitutes grounds for a search during a traffic stop or while the vehicle is parked.

First-time violators could have their licenses suspended, while repeat offenders could have their driving privileges revoked.

Black said his “Clear Minds and Safe Roads Act” is similar to when banning drinking and driving happened decades ago, changing it to a “social taboo,” and is necessary given the preponderance of high drivers getting into accidents.

“Marijuana,” Black said regarding road safety, “is the biggest problem we face.”

If containers are in locked compartments, or if passengers in commercial vehicles possess, then drivers are not culpable. Passengers with open containers could be subject to noncriminal infractions.

Black said he has seen violations of the proposed law himself recently, including two people in a car “passing a bong” on Monroe Street in Tallahassee. He said the legislation would remove the temptation to hit a bong in the case of “anxiety.”

Also on Thursday, the House Health Care Subcommittee advanced Republican Rep. Susan Valdés’ bill (HB 887), which would cut the medical marijuana card fee from $75 to $15 for military veterans.

The same committee also gave a green light to HB 733. The wide-ranging health care bill from Rep. Anne Gerwig, a Wellington Republican, would rename in statute the compassionate use registry as the medical marijuana registry. It would also ban medical marijuana treatment centers’ cultivation and processing facilities from being within 500 feet of parks, child care facilities or early learning facilities.

The bill also adjusts the definition of low-THC cannabis, defining that term according to the potency of the final product, rather than the potency of the dried flower from which the product was sourced. The bill would also modify the potency requirements for low-THC cannabis by reducing the percentage of CBD in the product from 10% in dried flower form to 2% CBD in the final product.