Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in recent remarks said that a marijuana legalization initiative will be on this November’s ballot, giving indication that he believes an effort by the state’s attorney general to block the vote will be rejected by the Florida Supreme Court.
Last year the Florida Division of Elections confirmed that the Smart & Safe Florida campaign submitted 967,528 validated signatures on their initiative to legalize recreational marijuana, more than the 891,523 signatures required to put the measure a on the November, 2024 general election ballot.
In November the Florida Supreme Court heard arguments on whether or not the initiative should be put to a vote in November, with the hearing spurred by a challenge from Attorney General Ashley Moody. The court has not yet ruled on the case, with an April 1 deadline fast approaching.
The amendment in question would allow those 21 and older “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.” Licensed marijuana retail outlets would be allowed to distribute the plant, with any of the state’s licensed medical-marijuana dispensaries allowed to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell and distribute such products and accessories.”
At one of his final campaign events before dropping out of the race, Governor DeSantis, despite opposing the initiative, indicated that he does not believe the attorney general will be successful in her challenge.
“I think the court is going to approve that. So it’ll be on the ballot”, said DeSantis when asked about the initiative.
A Florida Chamber of Commerce poll released earlier this month found that 57% of voters in the state support legalizing marijuana for all uses. Polling released late last year by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found support for legalization to be 10% higher, at 67%.
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