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Just months after a Florida marijuana legalization initiative failed at the ballot<\/a>, the campaign behind the proposal has filed a revised version in hopes of getting a second shot in 2026.<\/p>\n Smart & Safe Florida\u2019s 2024 measure did receive a majority of the vote in November, but it fell short of a steep 60 percent threshold to pass constitutional amendments under state law. Advocates wasted little time preparing a new initiative, titled \u201cAdult Personal Use of Marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign\u2014which received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state operator Trulieve\u2014made certain changes to the 2026 version that seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.<\/p>\n For example, it now specifically states that the \u201csmoking and vaping of marijuana in any public place is prohibited.\u201dAnother section asserts that the legislature would need to approve rules dealing with the \u201cregulation of the time, place, and manner of the public consumption of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had repeatedly condemned the 2024 initiative over that issue, claiming there were not parameters to prevent public smoking, while expressing his distaste for the smell of cannabis.<\/p>\n There\u2019s also new clarifying language prohibiting the sale of marijuana products that are marketed in a way that might be appealing to children.<\/p>\n This latest iteration<\/a> further explicitly states that nothing in the measure would \u201cprohibit the legislature from providing for the home growing of marijuana by adults for their personal use and the reasonable regulation thereof.\u201d That clarification may assuage concerns from certain advocates who criticized the lack of a home grow option in the original proposal.<\/p>\n The initiative, first reported<\/a> by Florida Politics, would also make it so medical marijuana operators that have been licensed as of January 1, 2025 would be able to start providing for adult-use sales starting on the effective date.<\/p>\n Another nuance in the new proposal concerns licensure for businesses that want to enter the space in the future. Some worried that the prior version could effectively create a monopoly benefitting the existing medical marijuana operators alone because it simply said the legislature wasn\u2019t prohibited from allowing additional licenses, without a mandate to actually take up that issue.<\/p>\n The new measure says lawmakers must \u201cadopt legislation for the licensure and regulation of Licensed Marijuana Entities\u201d outside of the existing program. However, it doesn\u2019t appear they would have any specific mandate to provide for any substantial number of additional licenses; they would\u00a0 just be required to establish the infrastructure for licensing.<\/p>\n The 2026 initiative also stipulates that any new licensees \u201cshall not\u201d be required to control all aspects of the cannabis operation from seed to sale, as is the case with existing medical marijuana businesses through a system known as vertical integration.<\/p>\n It\u2019s unclear whether the changes might affect the outcome if it ultimately qualifies for the 2026 ballot\u2014which would be a midterm election where conservative voters will likely be more represented\u2014but the campaign evidently feels confident it can prevail.<\/p>\n That said, even with President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s endorsement of the legalization initiative on the campaign trail, the 2024 measure failed 56 percent to 44 percent. And the prospects of DeSantis, one of the loudest and most influential voices who opposed the last initiative, shifting his position next year seem dubious.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the proposed summary of the latest measure:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAllows adults 21 and older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana for non-medical consumption. Establishes possession limits. Prohibits marketing and packaging attractive to children. Prohibits smoking and vaping in public. Maintains prohibition on driving under influence. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to acquire, cultivate, process, transport, and sell marijuana to adults. Provides for creation of licenses for non-medical marijuana businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n Another uncertainty is whether the GOP attorney general of Florida, Ashley Moody, will once again seek to intervene in the new measure\u2019s ballot placement through the courts as she unsuccessfully did during the last election.<\/p>\n \u2014 Last year, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign took in over $150 million\u2014with funding coming primarily from large cannabis companies such as Trulieve, the multi-state operator that contributed tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.<\/p>\n Trulieve separately filed a defamation suit against the state\u2019s Republican Party,\u00a0alleging it\u2019s knowingly deceived voters about the proposed constitutional change<\/a>\u00a0known as Amendment 3.<\/p>\n Smart & Safe Florida\u00a0rolled out a series of ads in September<\/a>\u2014including one calling out the hypocrisy of criminalizing cannabis while alcohol is legally available and another featuring a county sheriff making the case for ending marijuana prohibition.<\/p>\n In October, advocates aired another pair of ads, including one that\u00a0features clips of Trump endorsing the cannabis reform proposal<\/a>\u2014with a call for voters to \u201cjoin\u201d him in supporting the measure.<\/p>\n The promotion came just weeks after Smart & Safe Florida released a separate ad highlighting the fact that both major party presidential nominees\u2014Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris\u2014as well as their running mates share at least one thing in common:\u00a0They don\u2019t believe in criminalizing people over cannabis<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Florida campaign also released another ad featuring state Sen. Joe Gruters (R), who endorsed the initiative. In that ad, the GOP senator and former chair of the Florida Republican Party said he\u2019s \u201cas MAGA as they come,\u201d referencing his support for Trump.<\/p>\n Bipartisan Florida senators hit back at the governor\u00a0over the use of taxpayer dollars to fund anti-marijuana ads<\/a>\u00a0ahead of the legalization vote\u2014with one Republican member saying state agencies \u201cowe an explanation\u201d if reports are true that\u00a0millions were diverted from an opioid-related settlement account<\/a>\u00a0to promote the cannabis \u201cpropaganda.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former state agriculture commissioner, had also endorsed Amendment 3. And the chair also\u00a0laid out a framework for regulating cannabis<\/a>\u00a0that she thinks the legislature should enact if voters do approve the reform. That involves automatic expungements for prior marijuana convictions, taking steps to mitigate the risk of monopolization in the industry and directing tax revenue to Black communities and education.<\/p>\n While polling\u00a0consistently demonstrated that the ballot measure enjoyed majority support<\/a>\u00a0from Democrats and Republicans alike\u2014and despite the fact that Trump has endorsed it as well\u2014Florida\u2019s governor\u00a0did not relent in his crusade to defeat it<\/a>.<\/p>\n DeSantis has faced allegations of\u00a0weaponizing state departments to push anti-legalization narratives<\/a>\u00a0through various PSAs in recent weeks\u2014prompting one Democratic state senator to sue over\u00a0what he claimed was an unconstitutional appropriation of tax dollars<\/a>. A\u00a0Florida judge has since dismissed that lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0due to what he claimed to be a lack of standing and claim of injury.<\/p>\n Ads from multiple state agencies\u2014including the Departments of Transportation, Education, Health and Children & Families\u2014have aired in recent weeks. The one that a Democratic senator\u00a0sued over came from the transportation department<\/a>, which asserted that \u201cDUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.\u201d That was dismissed by a state circuit court, however.<\/p>\n Opponents of Amendment 3\u00a0hired a number of right-wing influencers<\/a>\u2014including former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, actor Kevin Sorbo and affiliates of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA\u2014to post critically on social media about the policy proposal, claiming, for example, that it would hand control of the cannabis market to \u201cgreedy\u201d corporate actors and that the smell of marijuana would be \u201cEVERYWHERE.\u201d<\/p>\n The former head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under then-President Bill Clinton had\u00a0urged Florida voters to reject the marijuana legalization initiative<\/a>, arguing that it would create a \u201cnew addiction-for-profit industry\u201d in the state.<\/p>\n A political committee opposing the legalization measure received a\u00a0half-million-dollar contribution from an organization that Elon Musk<\/a>\u00a0reportedly used to quietly support DeSantis before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. At the same time, the pro-legalization campaign has officially exceeded $100 million in total contributions.<\/p>\n Polling on Amendment 3 fluctuated over the course of the election cycle, though it fairly consistently found majority support for the proposal\u2014even if it hasn\u2019t always reached the 60 percent threshold.<\/p>\n An Emerson College Polling\/The Hill survey that was released last month\u00a0found that support for Amendment 3 is at 60 percent<\/a>, while 34 percent are opposed and 6 percent remain undecided.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which publicly opposed the cannabis measure, also came out with its latest poll on the issue last month. It found support for the reform from likely voters at 57 percent\u2014a majority but not quite enough to secure passage.<\/p>\n A previous survey from the chamber that was released in September 2024 found that\u00a059 percent of likely voters in the state backed Amendment 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n A poll from the James Madison Institute (JMI) from August 2024 showed\u00a064 percent of likely voters in Florida were in favor of the legalization proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n NRA Says Federal Ban On Marijuana Amid State-Level Legalization Has Created \u2018Confusing\u2019 Legal Landscape For Gun Owners<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Mike Latimer.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Florida Campaign Files New Marijuana Legalization Initiative For 2026 Ballot After Reform Failed In Last Election<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Just months after a Florida marijuana legalization initiative failed at the ballot, the campaign behind the proposal has filed a revised version in hopes of getting a second shot in 2026. Smart & Safe Florida\u2019s 2024 measure did receive a majority of the vote in November, but it fell shortContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":79745,"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\/79744"}],"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=79744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":79746,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79744\/revisions\/79746"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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\nRead More: Florida Campaign Files New Marijuana Legalization Initiative For 2026 Ballot After Reform Failed In Last Election<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"