Florida\u2019s biggest medical marijuana company recently launched a push to put marijuana legalization measure on the state\u2019s 2024 ballot. And at the same time, other advocates are exploring plans to have voters decide on what they hope will be a complementary measure permitting adults to grow their own cannabis at home.<\/p>\n
The industry-backed legalization campaign filed their measure with the state earlier this month<\/a>. But in what they say is an effort to avoid a legal challenge over single-subject ballot rules, the initiative is relatively limited in scope, lacking provisions to allow home grow or promote social equity, for example. That has rankled some observers who see the measure as largely self-serving in that it would, at least initially, simply allow existing medical cannabis companies to start selling to the adult-use market.<\/p>\n To fill that gap, Moriah Barnhart, an activists with the Women\u2019s Initiative for a Safe and Equitable Florida tells Marijuana Moment that she\u2019s in the process of forming a separate political action committee to get a home cultivation initiative on the ballot as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWith an adult use initiative launching with $5 million backing, it only makes sense to file home grow parallel to it,\u201d Barnhart said, referring to the Smart & Safe Florida campaign that\u2019s received seed funding from the major cannabis company Trulieve.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been asking for six years if I had any support in that endeavor,\u201d she said. \u201cI have always felt, in the state of Florida, that that was our best bet for a myriad of reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the top reasons to split the reforms into two measures is the fact that the Florida Supreme Court has represented a barrier to citizen-led reform efforts in the state, and so they want to avoid pursuing any one initiative that could be jeopardized by a legal challenge over language or single-subject rules.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the current political climate of our state\u2014and the rules and guidelines that we\u2019re under\u2014I have always felt that it would be best to file two separate amendments side-by-side and run them parallel, where the resources can be strategically tapped,\u201d Barnhart said. \u201cWhether they\u2019re actually related or not is really neither here nor there.\u201d<\/p>\n In this case, the home grow PAC hasn\u2019t been formed yet and there are no major funding commitments at this point that Barnhart could reveal, but she says she\u2019s actively consulting with attorneys about possible language for the measure. In a \u201cperfect world,\u201d she said the proposal would allow adults to grow a certain number of plants for personal use, with an option to grow more than the base limit with a doctor\u2019s recommendation.<\/p>\n Making the ballot in Florida is an especially resource-intensive endeavor. Case in point: the legalization campaign is starting off with several million dollars in funding from Trulieve, but that\u2019s just to get it off the ground. Successfully placing a measure on the 2024 ballot will require the collection of 891,589 valid signatures from registered voters. Even more resources would be needed to mount a successful campaign to advocate for its passage in the state\u2019s multiple media markets.<\/p>\n Trulieve spokesperson Steve Vancore told Marijuana Moment in a phone interview last week that the company is giving a \u201cbig thumbs up\u201d to Barnhart\u2019s initiative in theory and they\u2019ve \u201cliked the idea\u201d of letting voters decide on a home grow option.<\/p>\n However, it\u2019s Trulieve\u2019s understanding that attorneys are \u201cstruggling\u201d to nail down the language, so he said it would be premature to comment on the extent to which the business might be willing to financially support any campaign that comes come about.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, we will support it. When and to what extent still remains unknown because she\u2019s still drafting it. You can\u2019t commit to something sight unseen,\u201d Vancore said. \u201cBut we liked the idea, and we want to support something like that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Barnhart, for her part, said she\u2019s \u201cvery hopeful\u201d that cannabis industry stakeholders \u201care going to come to the table to support the homegrown initiative,\u201d suggesting that the industry-backed paid petitioning effort could let the personal cultivation campaign \u201ctap into\u201d its resources by having workers collect signatures for both measures at the same time.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have the opportunity to prove their dedication to home grow, which they have been publicly supportive of,\u201d she said. \u201cIt costs them absolutely nothing, if they\u2019re placing their initiative for signatures, to place ours side by side with it.\u201d<\/p>\n While Florida voters approved a medical cannabis constitutional amendment in 2016, subsequent attempts to place broader legalization on the ballot have been\u00a0rejected by the state Supreme Court<\/a>, which has ruled that the language of proposed measures by Make It Legal Florida and Sensible Florida\u00a0were misleading, invalidating them<\/a>.<\/p>\n The legalization measure that\u2019s been filed for 2024 by Smart & Safe Florida isn\u2019t just limited by the lack of home grow or equity provisions favored by many advocates, it\u2019s also deferential to the legislature on key issues like expanding licensing beyond the existing dispensaries in the state\u2019s medical cannabis program.<\/p>\n There are currently about 450 medical marijuana shops owned by about two dozen operators\u2014more than 100 of which are owned by Trulieve. Without legislative action on additional licensing, that consolidation could persist, which could raise equity concerns. Many advocates have pushed for reform legislation that gives specific licensing priority to people from communities that have been most impacted by the drug war.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear whether Sensible Florida, one of the campaigns whose legalization initiative was invalidated by the court in April 2021, will\u00a0continue its push for a separate 2024 ballot measure<\/a>, or if it will join forces with the industry-backed committee. Trulieve previously contributed $250,000 to the Sensible Floria effort.<\/p>\n Should any cannabis reform measure make the 2024 ballot, at least 60 percent of Florida voters would have to approve it for it to be enacted.<\/p>\n With respect to timing for the home grow campaign, Barnhart said that she\u2019s prepared to file the PAC paperwork to form what\u2019s expected to be called Wise & Free at any point, which she first spoke<\/a> about with Miami New Times, and that ballot language could come soon as well.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re confident in saying that in the next few weeks, we will have something to file,\u201d she told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n Recent polling shows that a majority of Florida voters (59 percent)\u00a0support legalizing cannabis for adult use<\/a>, so that\u2019s a slim margin that shows that advocates will have their work cut out for them if the measure qualifies.<\/p>\n A separate poll released in February found that three-fourths of Florida voters\u00a0support legalizing marijuana possession for adult use<\/a>, including strong bipartisan majorities. The survey didn\u2019t ask about where voters stood on creating a regulated system of cannabis sales, but 76 percent said they either strongly or somewhat support allowing adults to \u201clegally possess small amounts of marijuana for recreational use.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking ahead to 2024 rather than this year may leave advocates better positioned to earn the needed supermajority level of support, as demographic groups more likely to favor legalization tend to turn out in higher rates during presidential, rather than midterm, election years.<\/p>\n Florida isn\u2019t the only state where activists are turning their attention to the presidential election year for drug policy reform at the ballot.<\/p>\n For example, Idaho advocates filed the initial paperwork for a 2024 medical cannabis legalization initiative<\/a> on Tuesday.<\/p>\n In Wyoming, activists behind proposed decriminalization and medical marijuana reforms said in January that they would\u00a0focus their energy on 2024<\/a>\u00a0after failing to collect enough signatures for this year\u2019s ballot amid weather conditions, procedural delays and the ongoing pandemic.<\/p>\n In Ohio, an effort to put adult-use legalization on the statewide ballot\u00a0fizzled out this year<\/a>, but the campaign did secure a procedural legal win that will allow them to hit the ground running for a planned 2023 reform initiative.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, several states are set to vote on marijuana and drug policy reform ballot measures this November.<\/strong><\/p>\n North Dakota voters will have the chance to\u00a0decide on marijuana legalization at the ballot<\/a>\u00a0this November, the secretary of state\u2019s office confirmed.<\/p>\n In neighboring South Dakota, a marijuana legalization initiative has\u00a0again qualified for the ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Arkansas Supreme Court recently ordered the secretary of state\u2019s office to\u00a0certify a marijuana legalization initiative<\/a>\u00a0for the November ballot\u2014but there\u2019s a chance that the votes will not end up being counted, depending on the final outcome of a pending legal challenge.<\/p>\n Maryland elections officials have finalized the language\u00a0for a marijuana legalization referendum<\/a>\u00a0that lawmakers placed on the November ballot, and have issued a formal summary of the reform proposal.<\/p>\n Missouri\u2019s secretary of state certified that activists turned in more than enough signatures to\u00a0qualify a marijuana legalization initiative for the November ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Colorado voters will have the chance to\u00a0decide on a historic ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0this November to legalize psychedelics and create licensed psilocybin \u201chealing centers\u201d where people can use the substance for therapeutic purposes.<\/p>\n The Oklahoma attorney general\u00a0revised the ballot title of a marijuana legalization initiative<\/a>\u00a0that activists hope will be certified to go before the state\u2019s voters, making mostly technical changes that the campaign views as satisfactory.<\/p>\n Nebraska advocates recently submitted signatures for a\u00a0pair of medical cannabis legalization initiatives<\/a>. The campaign has faced several challenges along the way, including the loss of critical funding after a key donor passed away and a\u00a0court battle of the state\u2019s geographic requirements<\/a>\u00a0for ballot petitions.<\/p>\n Michigan activists announced in June that they will no longer be pursuing\u00a0a statewide psychedelics legalization ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0for this year\u2019s election and will instead focus on qualifying the measure to go before voters in 2024.<\/p>\n The campaign behind an effort to decriminalize drugs and expand treatment and recovery services in Washington State said in June that it has\u00a0halted its push to qualify an initiative<\/a>\u00a0for November\u2019s ballot.<\/p>\n In March, California activists announced that they\u00a0came up short on collecting enough signatures<\/a>\u00a0to qualify a measure to legalize psilocybin mushrooms for the state\u2019s November ballot, though they aren\u2019t giving up on a future election cycle bid.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there are various local reforms that activists want to see voters decide on this November\u2014including local marijuana decriminalization ordinances in\u00a0Ohio<\/a>,\u00a0West Virginia<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wisconsin voters in at least half a dozen cities and counties\u00a0will be asked on November\u2019s ballot<\/a>\u00a0whether they support legalizing, taxing and regulating cannabis in a manner similar to alcohol. Those advisory questions will be non-binding, however, and are intended to take the temperature of voters and send a message to lawmakers about where their constituents stand.<\/p>\n Voters In Five Texas Cities Will Decide On Marijuana Decriminalization In November, Activists Say<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Florida Activists Plan Marijuana Home Grow Initiative For 2024 To \u2018Run Parallel\u2019 To Industry-Backed Legalization Bid<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Florida\u2019s biggest medical marijuana company recently launched a push to put marijuana legalization measure on the state\u2019s 2024 ballot. And at the same time, other advocates are exploring plans to have voters decide on what they hope will be a complementary measure permitting adults to grow their own cannabis atContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56683"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56683"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56683\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56684,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56683\/revisions\/56684"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56683"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56683"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56683"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Florida Activists Plan Marijuana Home Grow Initiative For 2024 To \u2018Run Parallel\u2019 To Industry-Backed Legalization Bid<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"