Supreme Court review of Florida Rec Cannabis Bill underway, AG files challenge

The Smart & Safe Florida policy committee supports the “adult personal use of marijuana” proposal, which garnered well over the 222,881 petition signatures needed to trigger a mandatory Supreme Court review.

On Monday, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) formally submitted the proposal to the court, along with her opinion that it did not meet the legal requirements for participation in next year’s vote. The Supreme Court scrutinizes initiatives and, in particular, ensures that constitutional amendments are limited to individual issues and contain clear language.

Moody has specifically claimed that the initiative violates the state constitution’s one-issue rule, which requires voting proposals to focus on only a single, individual issue. Moody had previously made the same argument about a legalization measure in 2022, which the Supreme Court ultimately invalidated.

“Pursuant to the provisions of Article IV, Section 10, of the Florida Constitution, I respectfully seek the opinion of this Court as to whether the proposed “Personal Use of Marijuana by Adults” amendment to the single-subject requirement of Article XI, Section 3 , Florida, complies with the Constitution and whether the ballot title and summary of the amendment meet the material and technical requirements in Section 101.161(1) of the Florida Statutes,” Moody’s new court filing said. “I believe the proposed change does not meet the requirements of Section 101.161(1), Florida Stat., and will provide additional arguments through briefing in due course.”

Activists countered with a statement released Tuesday, expressing their appreciation for Moody’s submission to the Supreme Court, while “respectfully disagreeing with her statement that, in her opinion, she was non-compliant.”

“We very much look forward to their analysis, but more importantly to the written and oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court and to an affirmative ruling from that court.” That said, it’s important to note that the Attorney General’s Opinion is non-binding and that this matter will be decided after both sides have had their say in the Florida Supreme Court,” the Safe & Smart campaign said in a statement.

Trulieve spokesman Steve Vancore also shared the company’s belief that “voting language satisfies Florida’s single subject and associated laws.” Trulieve is the largest cannabis producer in Florida and has so far spent more than $38 million in an effort to introduce adult-use cannabis to voters in the state.

“As the majority of American adults now enjoy the freedom to use cannabis for personal consumption, we hope the court will agree that the Smart & Safe Amendment satisfies Florida voting laws and allows voters to have a say on this important matter.” vote.” said Vancore.

The Safe & Smart Committee needs both Supreme Court approval and at least 891,523 validated petition signatures for the measure to land on the 2024 ballot. The committee had 786,747 signatures as of Tuesday, according to the state Elections Department’s website.

Under the initiative, adults over the age of 21 would be permitted to “possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana supplies for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.” In addition, the proposal allows state-licensed medical cannabis operators – of which there are currently 22 – to “acquire, grow, process, manufacture, sell and distribute such products and related supplies.”

The initiative does not allow residents to grow at home for personal use. If the initiative is put to the vote, it must get the approval of 60% of the electorate in order to go into effect, since it is a constitutional amendment.

A poll released in February by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab (PORL) also found that 70% of respondents either “strongly” or “somewhat” supported the measure.

“The effort to introduce recreational marijuana to voters in 2024 is still in its infancy, but support for it is strong across the political spectrum,” said Dr. Michael Binder, PORL Faculty Director and Professor of Political Science. “If it gets on the ballot next year, and that’s a big ‘if’, it has a good chance of getting the 60% supermajority needed to pass it.”