Seven in Ten Florida Voters Support Marijuana Legalization. Poll Findings As Campaign Petitions for 2024 Ballot Initiative

A Florida-funded campaign to legalize marijuana is making progress. A new poll has shown that seven out of ten Florida voters support reform.

A survey by the University of North Florida (UNF), Public Opinion Research Lab, (PORL), found that 70% of respondents support the idea of legalization through a constitutional amendment. Only 29 percent oppose it.

The majority support for the cannabis proposal is bipartisan as 75 percent of Democrats are in favor and 57 percent of Republicans are against it. The reform is supported by 78 percent of voters who don’t belong to any party.

The poll also found that majority support exists in all age groups.

“Efforts for recreational marijuana to be before voters in 2024 have just begun,” Michael Binder, a UNF political science professor and faculty director at PORL, stated in a press release.

PORL’s latest Florida Statewide Survey shows 70% of registered voters support legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida.Check out the full survey results at https://t.co/MK3gji1z93 pic.twitter.com/LMqfKZxADL

— PORL (@UNFPORL March 9, 2023

He stated that if it is on the ballot next year (which is a large ‘if’), it has a good chance to reach the 60 percent supermajority required for it to pass.

Interviews were conducted with 1,452 voters between February 25 and March 7, with a margin of error of +/- 2.57 percent.

The signature collection for a Florida cannabis legalization initiative ballot initiative continues. According to the state Division of Elections, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign has recently reached a symbolic milestone by obtaining 420,000 signatures.

The measure passed a major hurdle at the end of January: obtaining enough signatures to start a state Supreme Court review the measure’s text. This analysis is still in progress.

The Florida Supreme Court will examine the proposal to ensure it doesn’t violate any state Constitution single subject rules and that it is not affirmatively misleading voters. The court will determine if the initiative meets these standards and the campaign must collect at least 891 589 signatures in order to be on the next year’s ballot.

The court has rejected previous attempts to legalize adult-use in Florida.

Smart & Safe Florida, which filed a legal cannabis measure last summer is now being funded almost exclusively by Trulieve, the largest state medical cannabis operator. Trulieve provided the initial seed money and has contributed $25 million.

The measure, if approved, would allow existing medical marijuana companies like Trulieve to start selling marijuana to anyone over 21. It includes a provision that allows, but does not require, lawmakers to approve additional businesses. The proposal as it stands would prohibit consumers from cultivating their own food.

The proposal would allow adults aged 21 or older to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana, but only 5 grams could be cannabis concentrate products. Advocates favor equity provisions such as extinguishments or other relief for those with previous cannabis convictions. The three-page measure does not include equity provisions.

Although Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment to legalize medical cannabis in 2016, subsequent attempts at legalizing broader marijuana use were rejected by the state Supreme Court . The court ruled that the language used by Make It Legal Florida (and Sensible Florida ) was misleading and invalidated them.

This is what the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana law reform initiative would achieve:

Adults aged 21 or older can purchase up to 1 ounce of marijuana for their personal use. Five grams is the maximum amount of marijuana concentrates that could be purchased.

A medical cannabis dispensary could “acquire and cultivate marijuana products and accessories for adults for personal use.”

The legislature could authorize, but not require, the approval of additional entities not licensed as cannabis dispensaries.

The proposal states that the initiative does not prevent the legislature from “enacting laws consistent with this amendment.”

Further, the amendment clarifies that nothing in the proposal “changes federal laws,” which appears to be an attempt to avoid legal challenges regarding misleading ballot language.

It is not possible to cultivate a home, erase prior records, or create social equity.

After approval by voters, the measure would be in effect for six months.

The full text and summary of the ballot title are available here:

“Allows adult 21-year-olds to possess, buy, or use marijuana products for personal non-medical consumption by smoking, ingestion or other means; permits Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers and other state licensed entities to acquire, cultivate and process marijuana products and accessories. It applies to Florida law. Does not modify or immunize federal laws. Personal use possession limits are established. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.”

Activists who are not directly involved in Smart & Safe Florida’s campaign stated last year that they were exploring the possibility of having voters vote on a complementary measure that will allow adults to grow cannabis at home.