Florida’s campaign to place marijuana legalization on its ballot in 2024 has filed a brief with the State Supreme Court. The brief contests arguments made by the Attorney General of the state who wants to prevent voters from being able to vote on the measure.
Smart & Safe Florida, as well as supporters of the Cato Institute and Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, submitted new briefs to a court on Wednesday. About a month ago, Attorney General Ashley Moody and other opponents filed their initial briefs to challenge the initiative.
The Supreme Court’s decision will determine whether or not voters get to vote on this issue next year. State officials have already confirmed that the campaign has collected enough valid signatures for ballot placement.
Moody argues that the ballot summary written by the company is misleading voters in several ways, and that this is reason enough to invalidate their proposal.
Smart & Safe stated in their response brief, filed on Wednesday that they relied upon a “roadmap” of cannabis ballot initiatives provided by the court over the last several years to consider prior proposed marijuana reforms. They argued that, in essence, the attorney general was asking the court “to abruptly redraw a map.”
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FloridaSupremeCourt July 20, 2019
“The Attorney General’s lead argument is that this Court should discard three of its recent precedents–precedents that it expressly encouraged ballot sponsors to use as blueprints for drafting future initiatives. The Attorney General goes as far as suggesting that this Court abandon the deferential review standard that it has consistently used to ballot initiatives over decades.
The campaign stated that the court should “reject these misguided attempts to jettison existing legal rules in the service of a thinly disguised policy agenda”, adding that the Attorney General’s Office has resorted “to extreme and destabilizing argument.”
The 99-page document concludes with the statement that the court should “issue an opinion advising the Initiative meets the legal requirements for it to be placed on a ballot.”
Cato Institute is a libertarian-leaning think tank that submitted a brief Friday that focuses on arguments made by Florida Chamber of Commerce, in a brief filed last month alongside the brief from the Attorney General’s Office.
The libertarian group said that it did not dispute the Chamber’s factual statement about the case but it disagreed with the claim that it violates the single-subject rule for ballot measures in the state and urged the court to adopt a “pragmatic reading” that faithfully implemented the state constitution commitment to selfdetermination.
Supporter urges that the Court adopt a reading the Single-Subject Rule which better implements the clear – and laudable – state constitutional commitment to self determination, it said. “Not coincidentally this approach better aligns with the history and purposes of the amendment-by-initiative process.”
The Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida has released a new short that says the attorney general’s argument that the Proposed Amendment’s summary is misleading, because it does not disclose that the marijuana industry may be unregulated for a period of time in order to produce marijuana for personal non-medical use by adults, ignores the existing regulatory scheme which would remain in place and is speculative. It also contradicts Florida’s long history of vigorously regulating marijuana.
It said, “In this case, the Attorney general’s claim is invalid.” The ballot title and summary for the Proposed Amendment is not misleading, and as such the initiative should go to the ballot.
Moody and the other opposing parties are due to submit their final response briefs by Wednesday.
Activists say they have thoroughly examined the measure, and are confident that the court will find it to be constitutional.
Moody used the same argument to oppose a legalization measure for 2022, which was invalidated by the Supreme Court.
To be placed on the ballot, a measure must also have enough valid signatures of registered voters to equal at least 8 percent of district-wide votes in the last presidential election. This is in addition to the number of signatures needed statewide. According to recently updated data, the marijuana campaign met the threshold for 14 districts.
Trulieve, a marijuana company, has donated over $39 million so far to the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign.
The measure, if approved, would amend the state Constitution so that existing medical cannabis companies like Trulieve in the state could begin selling marijuana for all adults older than 21. The measure contains a clause that allows, but does not force, lawmakers to move forward with the approval of new businesses. The proposal would prohibit home cultivation by consumers.
Adults aged 21 or older could purchase and possess cannabis up to an ounce, of which only five grams would be marijuana concentrates. The three-page document also excludes equity provisions that are favored by supporters, such as expungements and other reliefs for people who have prior cannabis convictions.
Separately economists from the Florida Legislature and the Governor’s office have also been consulted. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, estimates that if marijuana legalization is approved by voters it would produce between $195.6 and $431.3 millions of new sales tax revenue each year. These figures could rise if lawmakers decide to impose a similar excise tax to those in place in other states that have legalized cannabis.
A survey published in March revealed that 70 percent of Florida voters supported legalizing marijuana. Florida voters approved the medical cannabis constitutional amendment of 2016.
What would the Smart & Safe Florida initiative for marijuana legalization accomplish?
Adults aged 21 or older can purchase and possess three ounces (90 grams) of cannabis for their personal use. Cannabis concentrates are limited to five grams.
Medical cannabis dispensaries can “acquire and cultivate marijuana, process it, manufacture marijuana products, and distribute marijuana accessories for adult personal use.”
The Legislature would have the authority, but not be required to approve any additional entities not licensed as cannabis dispensaries.
The initiative states that the proposal does not prevent the legislature from “enacting legislation that is consistent with this Amendment.”
The amendment clarifies further that nothing in the proposal “changes federal laws,” which appears to be an attempt to avoid previous legal challenges regarding misleading ballot language.
No provisions are made for home cultivation, the expungement or social equity of previous records.
Six months after the vote, the measure will come into effect.
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This is the full text for the title and summary of the ballot:
The law allows adults over 21 to purchase or use marijuana products or marijuana accessories, whether for personal non-medical consumption, such as smoking, ingestion or other methods. It also permits Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers and other state licensed organizations to cultivate, process and manufacture these products and accessories. Florida law only; federal law is not changed or immunized. Limits personal possession. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.”
If the initiative is placed on the ballot in 2024, Florida voters will have to approve it by 60 percent to make it law.
A poll conducted in 2021 showed that the majority of Florida voters supported legalizing marijuana for adult use. This is a narrow margin, and advocates will need to work hard if this measure passes.
Activists who are not directly involved with the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign said that last year they were exploring a plan to let voters decide about what they hope to be a complementary measure allowing adults to grow cannabis at home.
DeSantis is a Republican presidential candidate for 2024 who stated at a recent conference that if elected, he would not decriminalize marijuana on a federal level.
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The post Florida Marijuana Campaign Responds to Attorney General’s Push to Block Legalization from 2024 Ballot in New Supreme Court Brief first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
