By Christine Sexton, Florida Phoenix
In Summary:
Sen. Joe Gruters’ SB 986 would update Florida’s public smoking laws to prohibit smoking or vaping marijuana in public places, including streets, beaches, parks, and common areas of buildings. The proposal comes as Florida’s medical marijuana program continues to grow, with nearly 932,000 qualified patients statewide, and as recreational legalization efforts remain active after a 2024 amendment fell short of passage.
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With its skunky smell, marijuana may be one of the most odoriferous substances around.
In an attempt to get the smell of medical marijuana off Florida streets, parking lots, and beaches, and into private spaces instead, a state Senate committee unanimously approved a ban on public use of both pot and tobacco on Tuesday.
Related: Proposal would extend Florida medical pot registrations for up to two years.
Sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, SB 986 would revise the state’s laws that prohibit smoking and vaping of tobacco in public spaces to also prohibit smoking or vaping of marijuana. The companion measure, HB 389, is sponsored by Pensacola Republican Rep. Alex Andrade.
The bill defines the term “public place” to mean “a place to which the public has access, including, but not limited to, streets; sidewalks; highways; public parks; public beaches; and the common areas, both inside and outside, of schools, hospitals, government buildings, apartment buildings, office buildings, lodging establishments, restaurants, transportation facilities, and retail shops.”
Florida first banned smoking in public places in statutes in 1985. In 2002, Florida voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to ban smoking in places like restaurants, government buildings, and health facilities. At the time, the amendment was pitched as a workplace safety issue. Opponents, meanwhile, argued it was a property rights issue and that the government was overstepping its authority by banning smoking.
The Legislature responded the following year with “implementing” legislation that prohibits smoking in workplaces that previously allowed smoking. With the advent of electronic smoking devices, Florida voters in 2018 approved a second constitutional amendment that banned vaping and e-cigarettes in enclosed indoor workplaces.
Voters also approved in 2016 a constitutional amendment to make medical marijuana available to qualified patients. The Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use reports that 931,959 patients qualified for medical marijuana in Florida as of January 16. Although marijuana is for medical reasons, only smoking is a legal route of administration.
A proposed constitutional amendment to allow adults to use marijuana recreationally was supported by 56% of the voters in 2024, but fell short of the 60% threshold needed to pass.
Gruters, now chair of the National Republican Party, supported the 2024 amendment to legalize marijuana, which put him at odds with Gov. Ron DeSantis, who opposed the idea. If recreational marijuana were legal, DeSantis said, Florida would “start to smell like marijuana in our cities and towns. The stench, he said, would “reduce the quality of life.”
In a hearing before the Senate Committee on Regulated Industries, Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association lobbyist Samantha Padgett didn’t take a position for or against the bill on Tuesday. Instead, she “shared information” with the committee, telling members that the association supports adding vaping and smoking marijuana to the law, officially called the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act.
“This gives all employers the freedom to ensure a smoke-free environment in their places of employment,” she said.
But she said the association has heard from members worried that the definition of public places is too broad and may impede restaurants from allowing smoking on patios or ban hotels from offering smoking rooms on certain floors.
Padgett said the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association worked closely with the Legislature on implementing legislation for the 2002 constitutional amendment to ensure designated smoking areas would remain allowed.
“As a result, many of our members made significant investments to make sure those spaces that were on their properties are compliant with that statutory language,” she said, adding, “We’d like to make sure that that ability continues.”
Florida Cannabis Action Network board president Jodi James argued the bill was overly broad and, because of that, has “some true unintended consequences.”
For instance, she said, some apartment complexes have policies that ban renters from smoking indoors, forcing people to go outdoors to smoke medical marijuana. “This is the place where a patient would take advantage of their ability to access state medicine,” she said.
She added that there are hotels across the state where smoking medical marijuana is approved by management. There are also hotels with designated smoking floors. None of that would be allowed under the bill, she said.
“This becomes a real property rights issue. The new definition of public places might very well include my front door, which would mean I couldn’t even step outside my home and smoke cannabis, which is my legally protected right. I think the most outrageous, though, is that my friend who owns property in Franklin County and who no longer uses the vapes that have tobacco in them but does use a vape with e-juice would be fined for sitting on her property near the beach using a vaporizer that contains no tobacco.”
Bill co-sponsor Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, a Republican from Doral, acknowledged that James’ points had merit. But she added: “Clearly, there is a difference between someone’s front door and a public place where the general public can gather, whether it’s a restaurant, whether it’s in a park, or on a beach. Your house is a dwelling, and the front door of your house isn’t the same as being in a public place.” Rodriguez said.
The bill also would prohibit smoking or vaping marijuana in a designated smoking room at any time, something not now prohibited by statute.
While the whiff of medical marijuana in public spaces is becoming more common, Rodriguez pitched the bill as necessary amid efforts to legalize adult recreational use of marijuana.
“Every state in the United States that allows adult use of marijuana has either a complete public smoking ban or tight restrictions on where marijuana smoking is allowed,” she said.
Key Points:
- SB 986, sponsored by Sen. Joe Gruters, would expand Florida’s smoking and vaping restrictions to include marijuanain public places.
- The bill defines “public place” broadly to include streets, sidewalks, parks, beaches, and common areas of buildings such as restaurants, hotels, apartments, and retail shops.
- The measure comes as Florida’s medical marijuana program has grown to 931,959 qualified patients as of January 16, and as recreational legalization remains a live political issue.
- The Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association supported adding marijuana to the Indoor Clean Air Act but warned that the definition may be too broad, potentially affecting patios and smoking rooms.
- Medical marijuana advocates argued the bill could unintentionally penalize patients who are forced to smoke outdoorsdue to apartment rules or who rely on designated smoking areas at certain properties.
