Activists seeking to put another marijuana legalization on the ballot in Florida have collected enough signatures to initiate the next steps in the process, triggering a fiscal and judicial review by state officials.
About five months after filing the measure and launching a signature drive, the campaign Smart & Safe Florida has collected 377,832 valid signatures—about 150,000 more than required to kick off the review process, according to the state Division of Elections.
This is the campaign’s second attempt to pass adult-use legalization at the ballot after its first initiative fell short of a steep 60 percent threshold to be enacted last year, while still getting a majority of the vote.
In order to make the ballot, activists will need to gather 880,062 valid signatures from registered voters, with a minimum of 8 percent of voters in at least half of the state’s congressional districts.
At its current signature count, the campaign has succeeded in reaching an initial milestone. The state is now statutorily obligated to conduct a judicial and financial review of the measure that will determine its legal eligibility and inform the electorate about its potential economic impact.
The latest initiative was filed with the secretary of state’s office just months after an initial version failed during the November 2024 election despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026. The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.
For example, it now specifically states that the “smoking and vaping of marijuana in any public place is prohibited.”Another section asserts that the legislature would need to approve rules dealing with the “regulation of the time, place, and manner of the public consumption of marijuana.”
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.
The governor said in February that the newest measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from going before voters next year.
“There’s a lot of different perspectives on on marijuana,” DeSantis said. “It should not be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you have elections for the legislature. Go back candidates that you believe will be able to deliver what your vision is on that.”
“But when you put these things in the Constitution—and I think, I mean, the way they wrote, there’s all kinds of things going on in here. I think it’s going to have big time trouble getting through the Florida Supreme Court,” he said.
Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. It’s not entirely clear why he feels this version would face a different outcome.
While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.
However, the results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.
In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed a GOP-led bill last month to impose significant restrictions on the ability to put initiatives on the ballot—a plan that could impair efforts to let voters decide on marijuana legalization next year.
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Separately, a Florida GOP senator claimed recently that the legalization campaign “tricked” Trump into supporting the 2024 measure by misleading him and the general public about key provisions.
Ahead of the election, Trump said in September that he felt Amendment 3 was “going to be very good” for the state.
Before making the comments, Trump met with the CEO of Trulieve, Kim Rivers, as well as with a GOP state senator who is in favor of the reform.
While Trump endorsed the Florida cannabis initiative—as well as federal rescheduling and industry banking access—he has since been silent on cannabis issues. And his cabinet choices have mixed records on marijuana policy.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
Activists seeking to put another marijuana legalization on the ballot in Florida have collected enough signatures to initiate the next steps in the process, triggering a fiscal and judicial review by state officials. About five months after filing the measure and launching a signature drive, the campaign Smart & Safe Florida has collected 377,832 valid Read More
