Florida Senator Files Bills to Provide Parental and Employment Protections for Medical Marijuana Users Ahead of 2026 Session

Florida Senator has introduced two bills in the legislative session of 2026 that will protect parental and employment rights for medical marijuana users.

This legislation was introduced on Wednesday by Senator Tina Scott Polsky, D-Washington, and would expand upon existing state medical cannabis laws, as supporters again try to pass legalization of adult use at the next election.

One of the new measures, SB 136, would prohibit public employers from taking adverse actions against workers or job applicants over the use of medical cannabis in compliance with state law—or as a result of a positive THC test—if they demonstrate that they’re lawfully registered as a medical marijuana patient.

The legislation contains an exception that allows adverse personnel action to be taken when there is “a preponderance” of evidence that medical marijuana use impairs the ability of the employee to carry out his or her duties and responsibilities.

According to the bill, an employer who mandates drug tests and finds out that a worker, or a job candidate, tested positive for THC must give written notification within five working days of their right explain their positive result. To explain their positive drug test, the worker or candidate could provide proof that a doctor has prescribed medical cannabis.

The proposal does not prevent an employer from adopting a policy of zero tolerance for use or possession during business hours. This includes marijuana. The legislation allows for recourse if a worker or candidate is penalized for cannabis usage while off-duty as a registered medical patient. This includes compensation for wage loss and legal fees.

Polsky’s legislation also says that employers must “attempt to make reasonable accommodations” for employees who use medical marijuana if that employee has a medical marijuana registration identification card. This is true unless they can show that making the accommodations would be a risk to the safety of persons and property, a hardship to the employer, or keep an employee from performing their job duties.

The latest version is this measure. It was first filed last year by Polsky but never passed.

SB 130, the other bill introduced by the Senator, is focused on parental rights. The law states that “a court may not deny, restrict, or limit a parent’s rights to custody, visitation, parenting, or parenting time of a young child, solely based on the fact that the parent has a medical condition.”

The law states: “There is not a presumption that neglect or child abuse has occurred if a parent meets the criteria for being a qualified patient.” In determining custody or dependency in relation to the best interest of the child, this section will apply.

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A Florida court ruled recently that the police can’t search someone’s car based solely on the scent of marijuana.

The District Court of Appeal of Florida Second District, headed by Judge Nelly Khouzam last week released an opinion that overturned the lower court’s decision upholding “plain scent doctrine” which allowed for long cannabis smell to be used in a vehicle search.

According to several polls, cannabis reform has majority support in Florida. This was evident when a ballot initiative to legalize adult-use marijuana on the ballot last year came up for a vote. It ultimately fell short of the steep 60 percent threshold for passage, and part of the opposition came from the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) and the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA).

State officials report that the legalization campaign, which was renewed this summer, has collected 75 percent or more of the signatures needed to get the initiative to be placed on the ballot in 2026.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in February that the newest measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from going before voters next year.

Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026. The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.

The law now states specifically that smoking and vaping marijuana is not allowed in public areas.Another section states that rules regulating the manner, time and place of public consumption of cannabis would have to be approved by the legislator.

Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. The governor’s reasoning for believing that this version will face a completely different outcome is not clear.

While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.

However, the results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.

Another recent poll of Florida Republican voters showed just 40 percent of that demographic said they’d vote in favor of the legalization proposal.

In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed a GOP-led bill in June to impose significant restrictions on the ability to put initiatives on the ballot—a plan that could impair efforts to let voters decide on marijuana legalization next year.

Max Pixel is the photographer.