Florida appellate judgment last week It has added another layer of difficulty to efforts to place a recreational cannabis amendment on the state’s November 2026 ballot, reinforcing how narrow and procedural the road to voter initiatives has become in the state.

A three-judge 1st District Court of Appeal sided with state officials in a dispute over the validity of more than 70,000 petition signatures. The court upheld Secretary of State Cord Byrd’s guidelines that allow county election officials to void petitions signed by voters classified as inactive, as well as those collected by out-of-state circulators.

Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee sponsoring the amendment, is working to meet the state’s Feb. 1 deadline. The campaign must submit at least 880062 valid signatures to vote. According to the latest state count, just over 760,000 valid signatures have been verified so far.

© GÜD EssenceJasmine Johnson, CEO of GŪD Essence

Proponents of the measure have argued that the decision increases the already rigorous petition process and increases the chance that voters will again be denied the chance to weigh in on adult-use legalization. However, state officials and opponents say the ruling reflects existing legal requirements and is intended to protect the integrity of the ballot initiative system.

“This decision highlights how complex and procedural Florida’s voting process is, especially when it comes to an issue as highly regulated as cannabis,” said Jasmine Johnson, CEO of GŪD Essence. “Regardless of where one stands on adult use, the ruling underscores that ballot initiatives are being closely scrutinized and that courts continue to delay enforcement of state law requirements.”

According to Jasmine, Florida already operates one of the most restrictive cannabis frameworks in the US, with a limited licensing structure and extensive compliance requirements for medical marijuana treatment centers. Jasmine says the uncertainty surrounding the voting effort reinforces the need for realism among operators and policymakers. “From the perspective of a soon-to-be MMTC operator preparing to enter the Florida market, this moment reinforces some important realities,” he said. “Florida’s cannabis landscape is already one of the most regulated in the country, and any expansion, whether for medical or adult use, will require careful implementation, strong enforcement infrastructure and clear guardrails.”

For industry participants, Jasmine noted that the focus cannot be on a single regulatory outcome. “The uncertainty surrounding the ballot initiative makes it even more important for regulators, policymakers and industry stakeholders to have transparent conversations about how legalization will unfold in practice. For operators building now, the focus is on serving care patients responsibly, investing in compliant facilities, and planning for multiple possible regulatory outcomes rather than assuming a single path forward.”

For more information:
GÜD Essence
https://greenessenceflorida.com

“It goes back to the heart of the criminalization of marijuana in certain communities. And those are the traditional communities of people of color.”

Andrea Tinker, Alabama Reflector author

The Alabama House of Representatives on Thursday passed a bill that would ban the smoking or vaping of marijuana in the car with children.

HB 72, sponsored by Rep. Patrick Sellers, D-Pleasant Grove, would make it a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail, for smoking marijuana in a car with a child under 19.

The bill passed 77-2 to 29 Democrats in the 105-member chamber after an open-ended debate about unintended consequences. Most Democrats abstained from the vote. Four voted in favor; Reps. Mary Moore, D-Birmingham, and TaShina Morris, D-Montgomery, voted against the bill.

“It’s about protecting children, protecting every child in the state of Alabama,” Sellers said after the meeting. “And that’s the motivation behind making sure every child has 100 percent ability to learn and stay safe in the best environment they can.”

According to the bill, people who are found to have smoked marijuana in a car with a child would have to go through an education program conducted by the Department of Public Health, and lawmakers would report it to local county human resources departments.

Several Democrats who have spoken out against the measure have cited the harm that tough drug laws have had on minority communities.

“It goes back to the heart of the criminalization of marijuana in certain communities,” Rep. Juandalynn Givan, D-Birmingham, said after the meeting. “And these are communities that are traditional communities of people of color.”

Givan also said House Democrats wanted to work with Sellers on the bill.

“The Democratic Party, in several attempts, has said that this is a bill that we should sit down and address,” he said. “I’m not sure why the bill sponsor hasn’t done that.”

Morris raised concerns during the debate about the bill’s definition of a child.

“So we’re holding a parent responsible for an 18-year-old who smells like marijuana,” he said. “We know that at the age of 16 and 17, especially as a result of going outside and going to different places, they are smoking, maybe even without their parents knowing.”

Rep. Rolanda Hollis, D-Birmingham, said during the debate that parents don’t know everything their children do.

“As a parent you may not know, and here I don’t know if the counselor or the principal can call you to say ‘Hey, this is what we smelled on your kid’s jacket, how are we going to do this?’ But instead, you made me go to a class for something I don’t know,” he said.

Asked after the meeting about Morris’ concerns about the bill’s age-related language, Sellers said parents should “stop making excuses” for their children.

“You know if your child is smoking marijuana. If someone lives in your house, you know they’re smoking marijuana because you can smell it. It’s a distinctive smell,” he said.

Sellers also asked how the bill will be settled if all the people in the car are high school students smoking marijuana. He said that high schools are compulsory journalists who have a process in place.

Messages seeking comment were left with the Alabama State Department of Education and Department of Human Resources on Thursday.

when asked about invoice On Thursday afternoon, House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, D-Huntsville, said “some people don’t know the meat is greasy,” a saying used to describe someone who has to learn a lesson the hard way.

He will take the bill to the Senate.

This story was first published by the Alabama Reflector.

The DesignLights Consortium (DLC) announced the addition of five new members to the Industry Advisory Committee (IAC), a 15-member group of lighting professionals who provide advice and support for DLC’s mission and strategic direction.

“DLC is excited to welcome these new IAC members as we begin implementing important updates to our Solid-State Lighting (SSL) and LUNA technical requirements and continue to promote the implementation of lighting controls,” said DLC Executive Director and CEO Tina Halfpenny. “Along with our existing partners, they bring a breadth and depth of experience in lighting technology, and we look forward to working closely with them in the coming months and years.”

As specified in the IAC’s letter, its members may include nominees from the four lighting manufacturers with the largest number of listings on the DLC’s SSL Qualified Products List (QPL), as well as representatives from two small (less than 250 employees) lighting manufacturers with SSL or Horticultural QPL products; Two medium-sized manufacturers (250 to 1,000 employees) listed on SSL or Horticulture QPL; three lighting control manufacturers with products in the online lighting control QPL; two light distributors; and two specifiers.

The following self-appointed and DLC-appointed industry representatives will replace the outgoing IAC members: Tyson Taussig, lighting specialist at Broken Arrow Electric Supply; Greg Hermanowycz, director of project development at Wesco Energy Solutions; Francois R.-Moisan, co-founder and CTO of Sollum Technologies; Evan Smith, vice president of product and supply at Keystone Technologies; and Jennifer Shockley-Loose, Chief Operating Officer, SiteLogIQ. Together, these new members represent lighting distributors, small lighting manufacturers and specialists, and have added a wide range of market and technical insights to the council.

In addition to the new appointments, IAC continues to include Michael Davidson, solution architect engineer at Synapse Wireless; Stephen Irving, standards development leader at Lutron Electronics; Eric Miller, Co-Founder, CEO and CTO of Avi-on Labs; Dan Wang-Munson, head of optics, testing and compliance at RAB Lighting; Jonathan Vollers, LC, Chief Engineering Officer of Cree Lighting; and Bernie Erickson, CMO Emeritus and Key Account Representative. The council also includes representatives from lighting manufacturers with the most SSL QPL listings: Michael O’Boyle, LC, technical policy manager at Signify; Mark Hand, vice president of engineering at Acuity Brands; Devin Jernigan, vice president of strategy, marketing and innovation at Illumus; and Jeremy Yon, director of compliance and industry relations at Current Lighting.