Marijuana would be added to places where smoking tobacco is banned, under a House bill Thursday that would also expand where smoking is prohibited.
The proposal, sponsored by Pensacola Republican Alex Andrade, adds marijuana to a series of outdoor public places where smoking tobacco is already banned, including many locations that smokers may use for breaks at work.
Under the measure (HB 389), “public places” would include streets, sidewalks, highways, public parks, public beaches, and “the common areas, both inside and outside,” of schools, hospitals, government buildings, apartment buildings, office buildings, hotels, restaurants and retail shops. Marijuana smoking or vaping also would also be prohibited at airport in-transit lounges.
As with the state’s current restrictions on tobacco, the proposal excludes unfiltered cigars from the list of prohibited smoking products.
Florida voters approved a ban on smoking in all enclosed indoor workplaces in 2002. In 2022, state lawmakers passed a measure that allows cities and counties to restrict smoking at beaches and parks that they own. Voters approved a constitutional amendment authorizing medical marijuana in 2016.
A 2024 effort to allow recreational marijuana failed to receive a 60% approval required to pass.
