Florida’s Recreational Weed Snicker’s Commercial

Florida has decided to try a different cannabis decriminalization strategy by 2024, largely because previous plans failed to scale.

Jonathan Robbins, Head of Akerman’s National Cannabis Practice, describes what legalizing cannabis for adult use would mean for current business owners and market seekers. To avoid what happened in two previous ballot measures in 2022 — rejection by the state Supreme Court — supporters of Florida’s Adult Use Cannabis Initiative are working to pass a “simple” measure in 2024.

Florida’s latest cannabis decriminalization proposal

The Bellamy Brothers, a group of country musicians, and Trulieve, a multi-state corporation based in Tallahassee, have teamed up to promote the 2024 Adult Personal Use of Marijuana petition through a political campaign called Smart & Safe Florida. David Bellamy is the leader of the group, and Trulieve has contributed $10 million to their operations to date.

According to Jonathan Robbins, head of Akerman LLP’s national cannabis practice, simplicity is key to guaranteeing the Florida Supreme Court won’t end the voting process this time.

“I think they made it very easy for that reason,” said Robbins, whose Florida-based company represents Trulieve and some of the state’s 22 medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) and other companies that affiliate with the state’s medical program want. MMTC is one of Florida’s leading vertically integrated companies.

Robbins claims there is no clause in the 2024 Adult Vote Initiative that would change the state mandate that licensees be vertically integrated from seed to sale. There is no mention of licensing structures or restrictions. Nothing is said about the wholesale trade between MMTCs. He also said that social justice or equal opportunity projects were not mentioned.

Robbins believes that the wording of a proposed measure should be short and direct; That way, the Florida Supreme Court would not find any errors in it. He predicted the proposal would likely have a very good chance of going to the 2024 election. He also noted that the previous two concepts were rejected due to language errors.

What happens if the measure goes through?

If voters accept the ballot initiative in 2024, state legislatures would have the power to enact legislation with an implementation date in mid-2025 to maintain the state’s one-subject norm.

In an interview with Tony Lange, a respected journalist in the US cannabis sector, Robbie explored the potential impact of the proposed measure on Florida’s cannabis market. He explained how the introduction would affect existing and potential MMTCs.

Some of the key questions and answers during the interview are below.

tony: What makes the adult marijuana petition being run by Trulieve and The Bellamy Brothers different?

Jonathan: “Its simplicity makes it stand out when it comes to voices. The most expensive aspect of getting an initiative on the ballot is therefore collecting the signatures [Trulieve] spent a lot of money on it. In Florida you need about 900,000 signatures. And that’s a costly endeavor.”

Robbins added, “If they do, will the wording please the Florida Supreme Court? And I think that’s why they kept it relatively simple. The dismantling of vertical integration is not mentioned. Mention of initiatives or programs that support social justice or justice is absent. I began to wonder if they didn’t do this on purpose to avoid misunderstandings or complaints that the language wasn’t clear enough to convey what the voters were voting for.”

tony: They claim that the simplicity of the 2024 proposal prohibits the Supreme Court from intervening as it did on the 2022 measures.

Jonathan: “I think it would be a challenge for the Supreme Court to reject the 2024 measure because this constitutional amendment is comparable to the 2016 one and is a constitutional amendment. Prior to 2016, Florida’s medical program generally consisted of a high-CBD, low-THC program, despite the fact that people wanted it [a high-THC program]. However, lawmakers simply weren’t ready to do anything about it. They eventually had to vote a well-funded constitutional amendment for a broader program down here, resulting in the program we have today thanks to voter approval in 2016. At the very least, we have a legal medical cannabis program where patients can actually get the drug their doctor recommended, although it’s far from ideal.

tony: Do you think the state will issue these additional licenses before the 2024 election? Based on patient data, the Florida Health Department is said to have issued 20 or more new MMTC licenses at this time.

Jonathan: “I really hope so. Since 2017, many of my clients have promised to apply for licenses; now they are all very keen to do so. Although we have 22 licenses, we’ve never really had a formal application process. An application process was already conducted in 2015 for the first five licenses with high CBD and low THC content. Five of them were awarded. Since then, 17 additional licenses have been obtained as a result of court settlements.”

tony: What impact will the voting measure have on the state’s licensing system and the creation of new licenses if passed in 2024?

Jonathan: Neither the number of additional licenses to be granted nor the manner in which they are granted are mentioned in the constitutional amendment. We leave it to the legislature, they say. The last constitutional amendment, passed in 2016, did not impose restrictions on the number of licenses. The requirement for full vertical integration was unnecessary. In truth, the MOU made it clear that they were not aiming for full vertical integration. With only about 16 licenses available at the time, lawmakers essentially said no, from seed to sale. That’s all. The Florigrown case arose out of our disagreement about the validity of the caps and the demand for full vertical integration.

bottom line

Jonathan Robbins is one of many optimistic Floridians who believe this new proposed measure will be approved in 2024. Pro-cannabis residents of the state are urged to include their signatures when they are due to ensure the law passes smoothly.

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