01/10/2026
“We can’t call ourselves the ‘Free State of Florida’ while continuing to criminalize cannabis use by grown adults,” Senator Carlos Guillermo Smith told Ma*****na Moment on Thursday, adding that a majority of voters approved a legalization initiative at the ballot in 2024 that wasn’t enacted after “falling just short of the state’s arbitrary 60 percent threshold.”
“The message from voters was unmistakable: they want change,” he said. “Senate Bill 1398 answers that call by legalizing cannabis for adults 21 and over in a safe, responsible, and tightly regulated way.”
“It also ends state-created medical ma*****na monopolies by opening the market to small businesses and gives Floridians the freedom to cultivate their own cannabis if they choose,” the senator said. “It’s time for the Legislature to stop ignoring the will of the people, end draconian criminalization laws, and finally deliver a fair, legal, and accountable cannabis system for Florida.”
There’s been some criticism among advocates about the current medical ma*****na system, specifically around the idea that vertical integration and licensing caps have effectively created a ma*****na monopoly in the state.
In an attempt to address that issue, the bill would break out licensing categories. In contrast to the current system of seed-to-sale businesses, regulators would offer individual licenses to cultivate, manufacture, transport and sell cannabis products.
https://www.ma*****namoment.net/new-florida-bill-would-legalize-recreational-ma*****na-and-end-monopolies-in-medical-cannabis-with-expanded-business-licensing/