Tag: florida

Florida Patients Could Lose Medical Marijuana Registrations For Having Open Containers Of Cannabis In Cars Under New Legislation

Carrying an open package of medical marijuana, hemp or THC products, including beverages, in a car, would be illegal and could lead to suspension or possible revocation of a patient’s access to medical marijuana under a bill that’s been filed in the Senate.

Fort Myers Republican Sen. Jonathan Martin filed SB 1056 Monday, eight days before the 2026 regular legislative begins.

Martin’s bill would give law enforcement the green light to search a vehicle based on the “plain smell” of edibles, hemp, marijuana or THC beverages by creating a new statute that provides “legislative intent.” In doing so, the bill aims to blunt the effect of an October 2025 Florida Second District Court of Appeal ruling that the smell of marijuana alone is not enough to establish probable cause for a police search because marijuana no longer is illegal.

Because the ruling was in conflict with one of its previous rulings, the appeals court certified the question of whether the legalization of medical marijuana and hemp in Florida means the “plain smell” doctrine, which allows searches based solely on the smell of marijuana, still is valid. 

Sen. Martin didn’t immediately reply to Florida’s Phoenix’s request for comment on the bill.

The ban on the carry of open medical marijuana products applies to both drivers and passengers, although it wouldn’t apply to paying commercial passengers or passengers on buses or passengers in self-contained motor homes that are longer than 21 feet. The definition of “open container” mirrors the definition of open container for alcohol.

The bill has different penalties for drivers and passengers who break the law.

There are 929,655 medical marijuana patients in Florida, Office of Medical Marijuana Use data show.

Both drivers and passengers who violate the law could be charged with a noncriminal moving traffic violation and suspension of their medical marijuana identification cards, which enable them to buy the product. And both drivers and passengers who repeatedly violate the law could have their access to medical marijuana permanently revoked.

A driver who breaks the law a second time could be imprisoned for up to 90 days and forced to pay up to a $500 fine or both. Jail time for a third offense for a driver would be increased to up to six months and the potential fine upped to $1,000.

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Florida Marijuana Campaign Sues State Over Invalidation Of 71,000 Signatures With Turn-In Deadline Weeks Away

A Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2026 ballot has filed a new lawsuit against state officials, alleging that they improperly directed the invalidation of about 71,000 signatures as a turn-in deadline quickly approaches.

Smart & Safe Florida has been fighting several legal battles this cycle to ensure that its initiative is able to qualify for ballot placement.

The latest lawsuit, filed in the Leon County circuit court on Monday, claims Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) directed county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and roughly 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.

This comes after another court upheld a previous decision to strike about 200,000 signatures that the state said were invalid because the petitions didn’t include the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign contested the legal interpretation, but it declined to appeal the decision based on their confidence they’d collected enough signatures to make up the difference.

Now, with a February 1 deadline to submit 880,062 valid signatures just about a month away, Smart & Safe Florida is signaling that the additional invalidations could jeopardize their chances of making the ballot. Currently, the state has validated 675,307 signatures.

“Time is of the essence,” the new lawsuit says, according to The News Service of Florida. “The Florida secretary of state has issued two unlawful directives that, unless stopped, will invalidate the citizen initiative petitions signed by more than 70,000 registered voters.”

With respect to the “inactive” voters, the term refers to those who are registered but for whom mail is marked as undeliverable, resulting in their addresses being considered unconfirmed. This group can become unregistered if they don’t vote in two consecutive general elections.

“The absurd result of the secretary’s directive is that ‘inactive’ voters can vote for the proposed amendment but cannot have their petitions counted to place the proposed amendment on the ballot to vote for it,” the lawsuit says.

The out-of-state petitioner issue, meanwhile, is about the enforcement of a law passed earlier this year barring non-Florida residents from collecting signatures. Amid legal challenges, a federal court issued an injunction blocking its enforcement for about two months before that injunction was stayed by another judge.

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Taxpayer-Funded Florida Theater Held ‘Drag Queen Christmas’ Show Despite Protests and AG Demands

In a move that has ignited fierce debate across Florida, the Pensacola city-owned Saenger Theatre hosted a sold-out performance of “A Drag Queen Christmas” on Tuesday, despite months of controversy, public outcry, and demands from state officials to cancel the event.

The touring drag show, known for its provocative content, drew protests outside the venue but proceeded without interruption.

The Saenger Theatre, a landmark in downtown Pensacola built in 1925, is fully owned by the city, with taxpayer dollars covering its maintenance and upkeep, though not directly funding the show itself.

Conservatives had argued that allowing such an event in a publicly funded space amounts to an endorsement of obscene and anti-Christian content, especially given its timing just days before Christmas.

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier publicly condemned the city for permitting the performance, calling it a “public nuisance” that mocks Christian beliefs and risks exposing children to inappropriate material.

“Two days before Christmas, Pensacola will host a demonic, sexually explicit drag show at the city-owned Saenger Theatre,” Uthmeier wrote in a post on X. “Pensacola shouldn’t platform obscenities that denigrate its residents and expose kids to harmful content. They should cancel the event.”

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Indicted Democrat Gets Dragged For Post Hiding $100k Ring Bought With Dirty Money

Democrat Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (FL-20) sparked controversy on social media Christmas morning for posting an altered photo disguising her alleged fraud.

In her Christmas post, Cherfilus-McCormick’s portrait had been altered to remove a diamond ring worth more than $100,000, according to the Miami New Times.

The ring Cherfilus-McCormick’s portrait usually shows is reportedly a Tiffany 3.14-carat “Fancy Vivid Yellow Diamond.” She allegedly paid $109,000 for the ring using a cashier’s check.

A federal grand jury indictment revealed that Cherfilus-McCormick used funds she acquired from COVID-19 related FEMA disaster payments in 2021. The indictment claims Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother were overpaid $5 million for a COVID vaccination staffing project. The funds were then for personal benefit, including the diamond ring, or distributed to friends and family. Those individuals then acted as “straw donors” to illegally contribute to her own election campaign.

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Indictment Watch: John Brennan is the “Target” of Florida Grand Jury Russiagate Probe

*Indictment watch*

Former CIA Director John Brennan is the “target” of the grand jury Russiagate probe in South Florida, according to his lawyers.

In July, it was reported that former FBI Director James Comey and John Brennan were under FBI investigation over their involvement in Russiagate.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe referred Brennan and Comey for prosecution over the summer.

US Attorney in the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones is in charge of the investigation.

Last month, Fox News reported that a federal grand jury subpoenaed John Brennan, former FBI lawyer Lisa Page and former FBI counterintelligence special agent Peter Strzok.

Peter Strzok was fired from the FBI in 2018 for violating bureau policies after he launched the ‘Crossfire Hurricane‘ Trump-Russia probe in July 2016.

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Florida Enacts Historic Law Banning Minors from Attending “Drag” Shows, Strengthening Child Protection, Parental Authority, and Traditional Values

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed this week a law prohibiting minors from participating in “drag” shows.

The law is already in effect and responds to growing concern over children and teenagers being exposed to sexualized content at public events, where adults dressed in female attire perform in front of young audiences.

State authorities emphasize that the law aims to protect childhood, restore common sense, and reinforce parental authority in the education of their children.

Republican lawmakers defended the measure, highlighting that parents’ right to decide what their children are exposed to should take precedence over ideological agendas that promote sexualized behavior from an early age.

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Confessed Child Killer, Freed for Good Behavior After Serving Half His Sentence, Arrested Again

An Indiana man released only 10 years into a 20-year-sentence after confessing to the fatal stabbing of a six-year-old Kentucky boy during a home invasion was released from prison in October only to be arrested weeks later for violating his parole.

More striking, convicted felon Ronald Exantus, 42, is due to be released again in 2026, this time with no parole restrictions, the New York Post reported.

Despite confessing to killing young Logan Tipton in his Versailles home, about 15 miles west of Lexington, Exantus was found not guilty by reason of insanity at trial, according to news reports.

Instead, the jury found him guilty of assaults against other family members during the break-in.

Exantus’s parole in October came after he accumulated credits that allowed him to reduce his prison time. With the heinous homicide of a child involved, the early release even got the attention of the White House.

“Something needs to be changed because it cannot be that easy,” Logan’s sister Kora Tipton told the Post. “You’ve committed a very heinous crime, and it’s just given to you.”

Logan’s family blasted the ordeal as they prepared to commemorate what would have been the slain boy’s 16th birthday over this weekend and expressed shock that his confessed killer might be returned to the streets next year.

“There’s no reason for any of us to have to walk down the street, and possibly see our son’s murderer,” father George Tipton told Lex 18 news.

After his release, Exantus moved to Marion County, Florida, but was arrested eight days later for failing to register as a convicted felon with the local sheriff’s office within 48 hours of arriving, according to the Post.

Exantus was able to reduce his sentence “five years … for following the rules, two years for exceptional meritorious service and 10 months for educational programs he completed,” according to the Post.

Ronnie Bowling, top prosecutor in Whitley and McCreary counties and president of the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association, told the Lexington news outlet inmates know how to work the prison good time system.

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Florida Executes 18th Death Row Inmate This Year, Setting Record Pace for US

Dozens gathered along a small two-way highway outside Florida State Prison Tuesday evening in rural Raiford, Florida, to protest the execution of convicted killer Mark Geralds, which brought the state’s record executions in a single year to 18.

Florida leads the nation in executions for 2025 and has surpassed its previous amount of eight within a year—another execution is scheduled in the state next week. The states with the second-most executions this year include Texas, Alabama, and South Carolina, with five each, according to state records. South Carolina executed three out of five by firing squad this year.

More than three decades ago, a jury unanimously recommended the death penalty for Mark Geralds after he was found guilty in the burglary, robbery, and stabbing death of a woman in her home in Panama City, Florida.

At a press conference after the execution, spokesman for the Florida Department of Corrections Jordan Kirkland said Geralds did not request a final meal and did not meet with a spiritual adviser before his execution.

The execution by lethal injection was carried out without incident and Geralds died at 6:15 p.m., Kirkland said.

Geralds worked as a carpenter and had previously helped remodel the home. The victim’s 8-year-old son found her body on the kitchen floor, according to court documents.

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Governor candidate James Fishback faces allegations over relationship, began when partner was a minor

Republican gubernatorial candidate James Fishback is facing allegations from a former partner regarding a relationship that began when she was a minor, according to documents filed in a 2025 Leon County court case. The woman, now an adult, made the claims while recounting events that took place years earlier.

The allegations were outlined in a Petition for Injunction for Protection Against Stalking filed by Keniah Fort in January 2025. Fort stated that she joined Fishback’s organization in 2021 at age 16, while Fishback was 26, and that he initiated a romantic relationship with her while she was still a minor. She said he explicitly instructed her to keep the relationship secret, a tactic some experts might describe as grooming.

Documents show Fort alleged her relationship with Fishback escalated over time. In Spring of 2023, she said she and Fishback began to live together, during which she was financially dependent on him due to irregular pay from her work in his organization.

The petition describes repeated conflicts and aggressive behavior, including Fishback throwing objects, screaming, and on one occasion grabbing Fort’s arm, leaving visible marks. Fort alleged Fishback tried to gaslight her and threatened self-harm to manipulate her.

By March of 2024, the couple became engaged, but the engagement ended in September of that year. Fort said that after the breakup, Fishback’s behavior worsened. She made claims of cyberbullying and stalking, including threatening to turn off utilities in their shared home and posting about the breakup on social media,

The petition also included references to text messages and other communications, alleging that Fishback sent hundreds of messages over several days, repeatedly contacting her after she asked him not to, and contacted her family. According to documents, Fishback acknowledged in some messages that he had been “tough” on her but denied threatening her.

The court ultimately denied Fort’s petition for protection in June 2025, noting that Fishback may have been “a little obsessive-compulsive” but did not initiate contact “directly or indirectly with no legitimate purpose.”

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Florida drug bust seizes 92,000 pounds of 7-OH, arsenal of guns and explosives, sheriff says: “‘Breaking Bad’ on steroids”

In what is considered the largest bust of its kind in the country, a young man is facing serious charges after a Central Florida drug and explosives seizure unveiled an operation that authorities referred to as “‘Breaking Bad’ on steroids.”

In a Facebook video shared Wednesday, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey and Palm Bay Police Chief Mariano Augello announced they arrested 26-year-old Maxwell Horvath on several charges after local and federal law enforcement agents seized approximately 92,000 pounds of an illegal substance believed to contain concentrations of 7-OH — a byproduct of the kratom plant said to be just as addictive as opioids — with a street value of around $4.7 million.

Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier issued an emergency rule banning the use of 7-OH, calling it an “immediate danger.” Uthmeier is looking to have a judge toss out a challenge to a rule banning the sale and manufacture of the kratom byproduct.

“This is what danger looks like right here,” Ivey said, detailing the dozens of weapons and boxes shown throughout the video. “Everything that you see behind us, everything you see in front of us, is a red flag for disaster.”

Augello added that along with the drugs, agents seized an arsenal of firearms and explosives, including five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) on the property where the warrant was searched, along with grenade simulators and 50 pounds of precursor chemicals to make explosives.

“We’re not just talking about drugs, we’re not just talking about illegal substances out in the street, we’re talking about explosive devices,” he said. “Things that the military and other countries are utilizing all over the world to take out populations of people.”

Ivey chimed in, calling the situation “terrorist activity across the board.”

“This guy was either looking to engage in war or looking to arm those or furnish to those who are,” Ivey said.

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