We have exciting news for those interested in the latest updates on the legalization of marijuana in Florida! The Smart & Safe Florida campaign has successfully collected enough signatures to qualify their adult use recreational legalization initiative for the 2024 ballot. This was reported by Trulieve via Tweet.
Trulieve, the major and just about only supporter of the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, announced that the advocates have “gathered sufficient raw signatures for inclusion on the November 2024 ballot. What we mean by major, is they bankrolled this into reality by putting 38 million dollars behind the efforts of gathering and verifying petition signatures.
The Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish the following:
- Adults aged 21 and above would be able to buy and possess up to one ounce of cannabis for personal use without a Florida medical card.
- The legislature would be allowed to approve additional entities that are not currently licensed cannabis dispensaries, although this is not mandatory.
- Current dispensaries in Florida, referred to by the state as MMTC’s, would have the authority to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute marijuana products and marijuana accessories to adults for personal use.
- The initiative specifies that the proposal does not prevent the legislature from enacting laws consistent with the amendment.
- The cap for cannabis concentrates would be five grams.
- The amendment also clarifies that the proposal does not change federal law, likely to avoid legal challenges surrounding past ballot language.
This is a significant step forward for the legalization movement in Florida and could have far-reaching implications for both the state and the nation as a whole.
The Florida Supreme Court will review the text of the proposal to make sure it adheres to the state Constitution’s single subject rule and does not mislead voters. If the court finds that the initiative meets these criteria and enough valid petitions have been gathered, it will qualify for ballot placement, leading to Florida’s Upcoming 2024 Recreational Marijuana Vote.
It’s not in the bag just yet. Last time, the state Supreme Court deemed the ballot language to be misleading, resulting in their invalidation.
