Smart & Safe Florida says it has gathered more than one million signatures for its 2026 marijuana legalization initiative and will not appeal a recent court decision that tossed roughly 200,000 petitions over formatting issues.
In a notice sent to the Second Judicial Circuit, the campaign said it will move forward without challenging the ruling, arguing that its current totals give it more than enough room to qualify for the ballot. The required signature count is around 880,000.
In a statement, the campaign said the tossed petitions are over 200,000 verified petitions, but emphasized that its overall signature count still surpasses the threshold. According to the group, it has submitted over 1,010,000 signed petitions so far, not including mail-in forms that have yet to be processed.
Smart & Safe Florida also pressed the state to resume timely verification, pointing to a months-long freeze that created a significant backlog. The group said the state has not updated its online reports to reflect petitions already submitted and urged officials to “accurately report the verification totals” in accordance with state law. The campaign said voters deserve to have every valid signature counted as the process moves forward.
Based on this information, it’s all but guaranteed the group’s initiative will be up for a public vote in November 2026. The initiative would legalize marijuana for adults 21 and older, authorize regulated retail sales, and allow personal possession and use statewide. A similar initiative, Amendment 3, received majority support in 2024 but failed to reach the required 60% threshold for approval.
As of October, Smart & Safe Florida has collected over $25 million in donations, with over 90% coming from the cannabis company Trulieve.
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