The Florida Supreme Court recently decided in a 5-2 ruling that it will not be preventing an adult-use cannabis initiative from appearing on this year’s ballot. Later this year, voters will voice their opinion on “Florida Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative,” where a “yes” supports legalizing adult-use cannabis and permitting possession of up to three ounces, and a “no” opposes adult-use legalization and all it would pertain.

This decision is the result of Attorney General Ashley Moody’s challenge of the initiative’s ballot language in summer 2023, arguing that the measure is misleading and doesn’t inform voters about federal prohibition. Moody also challenged a ballot initiative from 2022, to which the Supreme Court ultimately decided it was invalid.

The current initiative that will now be put in front of voters in November is backed by the advocacy group Smart & Safe Florida, which according to Politico, collected more than 1 million signatures to get the initiative onto the ballot. 

According to a written opinion from Justice Jamie Grosshans, the language doesn’t violate the single-subject rule, and is not too confusing for voters. “Selling and possessing marijuana appear, for better or worse, directly connected, and we cannot say that an amendment addressing both components violates the single-subject requirement,” the opinion stated. “We do not believe the summary would confuse a voter into thinking that the legislature is required to authorize additional licenses. It clearly states that the amendment legalizes adult personal possession and use of marijuana as a matter of Florida law.” Grosshans also addressed Moody’s claim that the amendment would require legislative decision in order to create adult-use dispensary licenses.

Smart & Safe Florida published a post on social media about the recent court ruling. “The court’s decision echoes our commitment to transparent ballot language and the right for voters to decide on vital issues. Here’s to progress and paving the path towards safer cannabis consumption for adults! #Yeson3”

A majority of the funds behind Smart & Safe Florida’s initiative came from the vertically integrated multistate operator, Trulieve, which granted more than $39 million to the effort. Trulieve is one of the largest cannabis companies in Florida, owning 131 of 618 medical cannabis dispensaries currently licensed in the state.

“We are thankful that the Court has correctly ruled the ballot initiative and summary language meets the standards for single subject and clarity. We look forward to supporting this campaign as it heads to the ballot this fall,” said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. “Trulieve was the primary financial supporter of the initiative during the signature gathering effort and subsequent court challenge and is a proud supporter, alongside a strong coalition of other companies, of the next important phase to educate Floridians on the amendment and secure a yes vote on Amendment 3 this November.”

In order for the initiative to pass this November, it will need 60% of voter approval, which would allow the state’s currently licensed medical cannabis companies to sell to any adult over 21.

Gov. Ron DeSantis took office in 2019, and shortly thereafter asked the legislature to repeal a ban on cannabis flower. Advocates and patients praised his support, and since then he has acted on that support to create strict rules to prevent medical cannabis advertisements in order to protect children.

However, DeSantis has made it clear that he does not support adult-use cannabis, calling it a “real problem” and referring to the plant as having a “stench.” He campaigned for president in 2023, and made claims that cannabis could be laced with fentanyl, and saying that he would not legalize adult-use cannabis if he were elected president. “Yeah, I would not legalize,” DeSantis said. “I think what’s happened is this stuff is very potent now. I think it’s a real, real problem and I think it’s a lot different than stuff that people were using 30 or 40 years ago. And I think when kids get on that, I think it causes a lot of problems. And then, of course, you know, they can throw fentanyl in any of this stuff now.”

Medical cannabis was legalized in Florida in 2016 with a 71.3% vote, and as of 2023, Florida had 871,000 registered medical cannabis patients, which is the highest number of patients in the country. According to Politico, the medical cannabis legalization effort was funded in majority by “Pot Daddy” John Morgan, who spent $7 million to push the initiative forward.

As of April 2, the Florida Supreme Court permitted a six-week abortion ban to take effect (which was signed by DeSantis in 2023). However, the court also approved a constitutional amendment to appear on the ballot that will ask voters to choose to decide on “Florida Amendment 4, Right to Abortion Initiative.” A “yes” vote would establish constitutional rights to abortion before fetal viability, while a “no” vote would oppose that constitutional right. “We’re thrilled the Court has let the voters decide the fate of abortion access in Florida,” said Laura Goodhue, Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates Executive Director. “This comes at the same time they have allowed a six-week ban to go into effect, making this initiative more important than ever.”

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A legalization campaign recently launched by Smart & Safe Florida has garnered the support of medical cannabis company Trulieve and Grammy-nominated country music group, The Bellamy Brothers. Trulieve has donated $5 million to the effort that could lead to a measure on the 2024 ballots.

According to Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers, legalization is all about access. “We came into this with a mission to provide access to high-quality products that are safe and have an appropriate value proposition to give folks control over their—in the original days—medical journey,” Rivers told News Service of Florida. “I don’t think that changes here. I mean, in effect we are at our core about expanding the opportunity for access to safe legal product, which is what this would allow us to continue to do.”

If passed, the amendment would legalize cannabis for recreational use for anyone 21 or older. This includes “possession, purchase, or use of marijuana and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.”

It would also alter the state’s current “medical marijuana treatment centers” to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell and distribute such products and accessories.” As of 2016, Florida requires that these businesses be vertically integrated, meaning they must control everything from cultivation to retail sales. According to WJCT News, this prevents smaller entrepreneurs from entering the industry.

Finally, should voters approve this measure, it would still allow legislators to participate in shaping regulations. “Any amendment in the state of Florida has to be very careful in terms of single subjects with this court and so I do know, speaking with the lawyers, that there was a very high focus on keeping this really focused around authorizing adult use and then allowing the Legislature to develop policy,” said Rivers.

The measure also has the support of Smart & Safe Florida political committee head and musician David Bellamy, of the musical duo The Bellamy Brothers. The country group members are Florida natives who have previously partnered with Trulieve to create a line of cannabis products.

“As we travel the country, we see the benefits of adult use and as Florida residents we love the ‘freedom state’ moniker and believe that Florida needs to join the millions of Americans whose adults are free to use cannabis without fear of being incarcerated,” the duo told WJCT News in an email.

A different legalization initiative from the political committee Sensible Florida, which proposed to regulate cannabis like alcohol, was rejected in June 2021 by the Florida Supreme Court. Another initiative was rejected in April 2021 as well.

Despite these hurdles, Rivers is confident that Trulieve lawyers have analyzed these previous attempts to learn from the past. “Every initiative has provided some level of learning,” Rivers said. “With this initiative, the authors have taken a hard look at the Supreme Court rulings surrounding the previous efforts and taken that into consideration. We believe it’s a very appropriate and narrowly focused amendment that does defer appropriately to the Legislature.”

Compared to previous attempts to legalize cannabis in Florida, Rivers believes that Trulieve’s strong support of medical cannabis patients could help get the word out about this new initiative. “One of the interesting aspects here is that we do have (a) medical-cannabis market and we have hundreds of thousands of patients in Florida who are utilizing medical cannabis regularly. So our ability to reach out and to have more direct communication…is a bit unique from a positioning perspective,” Rivers concluded.

But according to Rivers, Florida is home to many ardent advocates willing to help out. “While we’re happy to provide investment, we also do believe that there are a lot of folks who are very passionate about this and I expect to have a great engagement across the community,” she added.

Advocates like The Bellamy Brothers, who believe that legalization in Florida is a step toward ending non-violent cannabis convictions. “We see it every day and hear it from everyone we speak with, that the idea of putting adults in jail and ruining their lives for using cannabis is crazy. We have also read the polls and see consistent and strong support for an effort to allow adults to use cannabis,” The Bellamy Brothers wrote.

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