(Source Florida Courier)
Editor’s note: This commentary is provided by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) of Florida A&M University.
Cannabis is poised to be a major issue in 2026, as a federal effort to lower its classification moves forward and some states face initiatives to roll back adult-use laws. In Florida, lawmakers are weighing changes to medical marijuana policy, while a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana failed to qualify for the November ballot.
On Dec. 18, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order to fast-track the reclassification of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. While the order neither legalizes marijuana for recreational use nor decriminalizes it at the federal level, the move formally acknowledges a significant shift in federal drug policy.
“Moving to Schedule III says that cannabis is not highly addictive; that there is medicinal value,” says Carla Ashburn, founder and CEO of Medical Marijuana Care of Florida. With clinics in Brooksville and Odessa along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Ms. Ashburn’s MMCare practice educates patients interested in using medical marijuana and mentors physicians entering the state’s cannabis industry.
“The big win of Schedule III is that it opens up cannabis for research,” adds Shanel Lindsay, an attorney, entrepreneur, and cannabis policy expert, referring to a barrier the Schedule I classification imposes on marijuana.
She is the co-founder and entrepreneurship director of the Parabola Center for Law and Policy, a Massachusetts-based non-profit organization whose mission is “to keep cannabis legalization in the hands of people, not corporations.”
Campaigns to repeal existing adult-use marijuana legalization laws are underway in Maine, Massachusetts, and Arizona. In Idaho, voters will decide in November on a proposed constitutional amendment that would bar future voter involvement in statewide marijuana policies.
“We’re watching those very closely,” Ms. Lindsay says of the repeal efforts. “It’s part of a larger trend of pushback against cannabis initiatives.”
H.R. 5371, a federal law set to go into effect on Nov. 12, bans intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids, including Delta-8 THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), Delta-10 THC, high-THCA flower, and HHC (hexahydrocannabinol). Industrial hemp used for fiber, grain, and non-intoxicating, non-synthetic, or low-THC CBD (cannabidiol) products will remain legal.
However, full-spectrum CBD products with trace amounts of THC may be affected. The law provided a one-year transition period for the hemp industry to adjust.
The ban follows a rise in health emergencies among children who consumed intoxicating hemp-based edibles. Often sold at smoke shops and convenience stores, some of these products are marketed in packaging resembling popular candy brands.
“It is not surprising to me, with essentially what we call within the industry the legalization of cannabis through hemp…that we would end up seeing more instances of access by children,” says Ms. Lindsay.
In Florida, the Department of State announced on Feb. 1 that a constitutional amendment initiative to legalize adult-use marijuana fell short of the number of verified signatures required to qualify for the November ballot. A similar proposal failed to secure the required 60 percent voter approval in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Florida Legislature is considering two bills that would extend protections to parents and employees who legally use medical marijuana, measures Ms. Ashburn says she supports.
Filed during the current legislative session, House Bill 1061 and Senate Bill 130, known as the Parental Rights of Qualified Patients, would prohibit courts from denying or restricting custody, visitation, or parenting time solely based on a parent’s status as a qualified medical marijuana patient. Senate Bill 136would grant job protections to public employees and job applicants who legally use cannabis treatments.
Ms. Ashburn, however, expressed concern about House Bill 719, which would allow qualified physicians to recertify medical marijuana patients every two years rather than every seven months, as current law requires.
“If we go two years without seeing a doctor, how are we monitoring efficacy and whether patients are experiencing adverse effects?” she asks.
Visit https://bit.ly/MMERIJanuary2026to watch MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum featuring Carla Ashburn and Shanel Lindsay discussing “The State of Cannabis in Florida and the U.S.”