The Florida Group submits 420,000 signatures for the Cannabis Amendment — halfway to qualifying for the vote

The group driving a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis in Florida is halfway to its goal of putting the measure on next year’s vote.

According to the Florida Intelligence Service, supporters of the proposed change have “submitted more than 420,000 valid petition signatures to the state,” and they must “submit at least 891,589 signatures to vote” in 2024.

“Last month, the committee surpassed a threshold of 222,898 signatures needed to trigger a crucial review of the proposed wording by the Florida Supreme Court,” the news service reported.

The group behind the effort, Smart and Safe Florida, is heavily backed by medical cannabis company Trulieve, which has a strong presence in the Sunshine State.

Smart and Safe Florida launched its campaign last summer.

“We came here on a mission to provide access to quality products that are safe and have an appropriate value proposition to put people in control of their – in the original days – medical journey,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers at that time. “I don’t think that will change here. I mean, basically, what we’re fundamentally about is expanding the opportunities for access to safe, legal products, which would allow us to continue to do that.”

Trulieve donated $5 million at the launch of the campaign last summer.

According to the News Service of Florida, the company “had spent $25 million on the Smart & Safe Florida initiative by the end of January.”

The amendment would legalize the possession and use of cannabis by adults in Florida over the age of 21 and would also set the framework for a state-regulated marijuana industry.

In particular, the measure would allow the state’s existing medical cannabis facilities to convert into recreational cannabis dispensaries.

Florida legalized medicinal cannabis in 2016.

“One of the interesting aspects here is that we have it [a] medical cannabis market and we have hundreds of thousands of patients in Florida using medical cannabis on a regular basis. Our ability to reach out and communicate more directly…is a bit unique from a positioning perspective,” Rivers said in the summer.

Activists in Florida have been hampered in their previous attempts to get marijuana legalization over the line, most recently in 2021 when an initiative was blocked by the state Supreme Court.

“Each initiative has enabled some level of learning,” Rivers said last year. “With this initiative, the authors have carefully considered and considered the Supreme Court rulings on the efforts to date. We believe it is a very appropriate and narrowly focused change that appropriately relates to the legislature.”

With a growing population that ranks among the third largest in the country, Florida is a coveted potential market for cannabis investors.

“Florida is definitely an interesting market, especially compared to some other more mature, mature markets,” said Jade Green, president of cannabis industry consulting firm Next Titan Capital. “The main reason is that everyone has the same belief that whatever happens in 2024, eventually adult (recreational) cannabis will come to Florida.”

“If you can make it in Florida by the time rec (recreational marijuana) arrives, you’ll have a significant advantage in one of the largest cannabis economies not just in the U.S. but in the world,” Green added.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely believed to be the Republican presidential nominee for 2024, has been negative about marijuana legalization in the past.

“What I don’t like about it is when you go to some of these places that it did, the stench when you’re out there, I mean, it smells so foul,” DeSantis said last year.