The top financial supporter of the campaign announced Wednesday that Florida marijuana reformers have collected enough raw signatories to qualify an initiative for legalization on the 2024 ballot in the state.
The cannabis company Trulieve is funding the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign and announced that the advocates had “gathered enough raw signatures to be included on the November 2020 ballot.”
$TRUL $TCNNF @SmartandSafeFl pic.twitter.com/OFwfyiXZpT
— Trulieve_IR May 10, 2020
Florida Division of Elections update the ballot signature count at the end of every month. The current total hasn’t been reflected. The last update indicated that had been completed about 94 per cent of the time, so it’s not surprising that advocates have closed the gap.
For activists to be included on the ballot they will need 891,523 valid signed petitions. As of April’s end, the state has verified a total of 786,688 signatures.
The measure passed a major hurdle at the end of January when it received enough signatures for the state Supreme Court to review the language of the measure. The state attorney general refers the language to the Supreme Court for review.
The campaign had crossed the threshold of 420,000 signatures by the end of the month of February. As of March , the campaign had 635 961 valid signatures.
The Florida Supreme Court is going to be checking to see if the proposal violates the single-subject rule in the Florida Constitution and if it’s misleading voters. The court will determine if the initiative is in compliance with these standards and if it meets the requirements for ballot placement.
The court has rejected previous attempts to put adult-use legalization in Florida on the ballot.
Smart & Safe Florida has filed the legal cannabis measure last summer. It is funded almost exclusively by Trulieve. Trulieve provided the initial seed money for the campaign and has contributed a minimum of $30 million.
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.
Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, said that Florida, with its 22 million residents, and 138 millions tourists who visit the state annually, will become a leading legal cannabis market. Revenues could reach $6 billion per year.
Adults 21 years and older could purchase and possess cannabis up to an ounce, of which only five grams would be marijuana concentrates. The three-page proposal also excludes equity provisions that are favored by supporters, such as expungements and other reliefs for people who have prior cannabis convictions.
In a March survey, 70 percent of Florida voters supported legalizing marijuana.
The state Supreme Court has rejected subsequent attempts by Make It Legal Florida, and Sensible Florida to put broader legalization measures on the ballot. They ruled the proposed language was misleading, invalidating the measures.
What would the Smart & Safe Florida initiative for marijuana legalization accomplish?
Adults over 21 could buy and possess one ounce of marijuana for personal use. Cannabis concentrates are limited to five grams.
Medical cannabis dispensaries can “acquire and cultivate marijuana, process it, manufacture marijuana products, and marijuana accessories for adults to 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 “adopting laws 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, manufacture, process, sell and distribute 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 cannabis reform measure makes it to the ballot in 2024, it would need to receive at least 60% of Florida voters’ approval to become law.
A poll conducted in 2021 showed that the majority of Florida voters (59%) supported legalizing marijuana for adult use. This is a narrow margin, and advocates will need to work hard if this measure passes.
Activists who aren’t involved directly in the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign said 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.
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Photo by Philip Steffan.
Trulieve says Florida Marijuana campaign collected enough signatures to qualify for legalization initiative on 2024 ballot.
