Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, (R), says that a marijuana legalization measure will be on Florida’s ballot in November. He predicts a favorable outcome for activists at the Supreme Court despite a challenge by the Attorney General who wants to block the vote.
Don Murphy, a cannabis lobbyist, asked DeSantis about the possibility of legalization appearing on the Florida ballot just days before he dropped out of the race to be the Republican nominee for 2024.
The governor told his final New Hampshire campaign event on Friday that he believes the court will approve the measure, so it’ll appear on the ballot.
DeSantis’ prediction is based on issues, but it is not clear whether he has been given any indication by the court as to the current status of the case. The Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is still considering the legal challenge.
Moody asked the court to invalidate this measure despite activists obtaining nearly one million signatures. The official successfully petitioned the justices in order to stop a 2022 initiative for legalization from being considered by voters.
The governor says that this time, it won’t happen. He opposes reform, and promised not to decriminalize cannabis if elected President while he ran for office. But he believes voters will have a chance to make a decision this time.
The state Supreme Court has yet to issue a decision in the case vs. the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign. The state will have to make a decision by April 1.
DeSantis was also heard last week on another cannabis-related issue when he told Murphy that the federal gun prohibition for state-legal pot consumers is not constitutional. Nikki Fried of Florida’s former agricultural commission filed a lawsuit against Biden administration for the rule. The governor was not involved.
DeSantis, who dropped out of the race earlier this month, also stated that, if he were elected president, he would respect the decisions made by the states on marijuana legalization, despite his own personal opinion that the reform had a “negative effect.”
The Florida Chamber of Commerce conducted a poll in this month that showed that , the reform proposal enjoyed majority support among likely voters — but not enough to reach the steep 60 percent threshold required by the state.
Other polls show that voters have more than enough support to pass the legalization measure. Last month, the University of North Florida released a poll that indicated 67 percent of voters supported the proposal.
Trulieve, a multi-state marijuana firm, has donated over $40 million so far to the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign. The state attorney general accused the company that it was supporting the measure to gain a “monopolistic grip” on the cannabis market in the state.
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 concentrate. 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.
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A Republican Florida legislator filed a preemptive bill earlier this month that would limit the THC potency in case voters approve legalization.
Florida officials announced last month that two paid canvassers were arrested for , allegedly falsifying petition signatures in order to place the marijuana legalization initiative onto the 2024 state ballot.
If voters approve the initiative, economic analysts in the Florida legislature and DeSantis’s office estimate the initiative will generate new sales tax revenues between $195.6 and $431.3 millions annually. These figures could rise if legislators impose a similar excise tax to those in place in other states that have legalized cannabis.
DeSantis, however, has stated that he will not support this measure regardless of its economic potential. DeSantis also suggested recently that some of the growth in Florida’s medical marijuana patient population was due to users using the program to “pretext” recreational use.
A law passed by the Governor last summer placed restrictions on medical marijuana advertising and production. It prohibited any products or messages which promote “recreational cannabis use” while also adding stricter eligibility requirements for industry workers.
In June, the Governor approved a bill that explicitly prohibited sober living homes from allowing their residents to possess or to use medical marijuana. This is true even if a patient has been certified by a physician to use cannabis legally therapeutically according to state law. All other pharmaceuticals prescribed by doctors may still be allowed.
In July , he signed a law prohibiting the sale of all consumable hemp products — including cannabis “chewing-gum” — to anyone under 21. This is an extension of the existing ban on young people purchasing smokable hrd.
The organizer of , a separate Florida ballot measure to legalize medical marijuana cultivation by patients withdrew their proposal recently. They explained that the campaign had raised only a little more than $4,000 but could not cover the costs of trying to qualify this measure.
A Florida Republican Senator introduced a bill in the legislature last month that would allow medical cannabis businesses licensed to do business to claim state tax deductions, which they cannot claim at the federal level due to an Internal Revenue Service code (IRS) known as 280E.
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The original post DeSantis says marijuana legalization will be on Florida ballot following court review was first published at Marijuana Moment.
