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If the provision gets 60 percent in November, it will legalize recreational marijuana in the country’s third-most populous state.


POLITICO
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — The Florida Supreme Court will not block a ballot initiative that seeks to legalize recreational marijuana use for adults in this year’s general election, giving a major boost to the effort to open up pot use in the third-most populous state in the country.

With the green light from Florida’s conservative-leaning high court and more than 1 million signed and certified voter petitions in hand, Florida voters will have a chance to weigh in on an issue the state’s Republican-led Legislature has rejected for years.

The decision was in response to a request made by Florida Republican Attorney General Ashley Moody to reject the ballot language, arguing the measure fails to remind voters about a federal ban on marijuana.

Florida’s Supreme Court in a 5-2 ruling determined that the ballot language proposed by the Smart & Safe Florida committee to go before voters in November’s election fit the state’s single-subject rule for ballot initiatives.

Justice Jamie Grosshans wrote in the majority opinion that the ballot language was not too confusing for voters, and rejected an argument that the proposed amendment would require the Legislature to create new licenses to sell pot beyond the companies currently allowed to sell medical marijuana.

“We do not believe the summary would confuse a voter into thinking that the Legislature is required to authorize additional licenses,” the opinion states, later adding, “It clearly states that the amendment legalizes adult personal possession and use of marijuana as a matter of Florida law.”

Smart & Safe Florida’s campaign was funded by more than $39 million from Trulieve, which is the largest medical marijuana company in Florida. The proposed amendment, if approved by 60 percent of voters in November, would allow Trulieve and the 24 other companies licensed by the state to sell and grow pot for medical use to begin selling to anyone over the age of 21.

“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,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers wrote in a statement, later adding that a coalition of companies has formed to aid in the campaign to November.

Trulieve operates 131 of the 618 medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida, and Moody used the Tallahassee-based company’s market position to argue that the ballot language was not written within the best interest of voters.

Lawyers from Moody’s office argued in briefs — filed before the court heard oral arguments in November — that the company was footing the bill for the initiative so it could lure consumers to willfully break federal law in the name of profit.

The justices all but dismissed Moody’s arguments during oral arguments. The same court had previously rejected two legalization initiatives from recent election years, handing down decisions that identified several mistakes. Lawyers for Smart & Safe Florida argued that the proposed language sought to address the mistakes that were cited by the court in the previous decisions, and Moody’s lawyers argued that the court should reconsider parts of the previous decisions.

In Monday’s opinion Grosshans wrote the amendment does not violate the single subject rule by impacting the state’s medical pot industry.

“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 states.

Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2019 was hailed a champion by medical marijuana businesses and patients just weeks after he first took office, after he called on the state Legislature to repeal a ban on the sale of smokable marijuana known as flower.

DeSantis has since signed legislation that tightened the state’s controls on medical marijuana marketing to further prevent advertising that attracts children and implied that products were for recreational use. And his annual state budget recommendations to the Legislature have included millions in funding to expand testing, safety and enforcement efforts at the Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

DeSantis has, however, called recreational pot use a “real problem,” even lamenting the plant’s “stench.” While campaigning for president last year, DeSantis told reporters that marijuana has become more potent over the past two decades and warned that it could be laced with fentanyl.

“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,” DeSantis said. “And I think when kids get on that, I think it causes a lot of problems.”

Florida already has the largest medical marijuana program in the country, with more than 871,000 patients registered with the state Department of Health.

More than 71 percent of voters legalized pot for medical use in 2016 after a successful ballot initiative backed heavily by high-profile Orlando lawyer and self-proclaimed “Pot Daddy” John Morgan, who contributed close to $7 million in cash.


This is seriously big business. Licenses to grow and sell medical MJ are about $50-55 million each to the state. Anyone want to bet that this initiative raises another $45 million? I say it will.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/where-things-stand-summary-pending-federal-cannabis-legislation-2024-02-07/

It’s done wonders here!

sarcasm

Most people who have experience with it understand that its hypocrisy allowing alcohol to be legal but not marijuana.

You are smoking the wrong stuff and/or too much.

If, after 30 years of non-use, you smoke a joint today that is the size of what you used to roll 30 years ago, you would be higher than you could ever want to be. I would be too...

There are also other ways to try it where you can accurately titrate the dose to miniscule amounts (e.g. vape, edibles), which probably would be something for you to try if you want to try it again.

The baby boomer generation was brainwashed by the government with movies like reefer madness that is so out of touch its ridiculous. That generation is retiring and lawmakers who weren't brainwashed are taking office.

When I was in HS they pushed an anti-AIDS campaign and had us all brainwashed to think if we had unprotected sex we would get AIDS.
I don't know anyone with AIDS. They over-hyped that as well.

P.S. If u try edibles with no tolerance start small like half a 5mg gummy and wait an hour. Experiment slowly moving up cause if u eat too much you'll regret it.

You can also get delta 8 or 9 in all states even where recreational is illegal. It's not as potent.

Bruh... I know about weed. I was a pot smokin' fool in HS. Been to a few pot stores in CA. Not ONE of them had sheit less than 20% THC. Not ONE. Most around 25-30%. That's ridiculous. Sheit we got back in the day was 3-5% if we were lucky.

I took one toke off the stuff my HS buddy left. One small toke... I was high as f--k for 4-5 hours. That's too damn much.

I don’t smoke but know a lot more about it than those that do because I smoked 35-40 years ago.

I am Farticus!

You're an ass holio is what you are. You probably know all about how safe and effective the covid shot is, too... because you have access to information nobody else has.



My point Ed Zachary!

The floor is still there the ceiling is much higher. Just because you can get phenomenal weed nowadays, which is a great thing, does not mean you can’t still get low power weed and roll Marley if you want to.

Some people want very low power to the point you hardly get high at all for medical purposes. Others prefer the really low power shake, and other **** selections for whatever reasons. Ditch weed never went away.

You do not know what you were talking about, but I don’t expect that to stop you.

Your lack of education has failed you.

I am Farticus!

I don't smoke weed and don't really have a desire to. We have one dispensary in town (I think they are going to add another) where, if I wanted, I could go there and get a bunch of different versions like flowers, edibles, pre-rolled joints, vapes, topical creams (I don't even know the terminology anymore) both in CBD and THC choices.

Here in MA pot is legal for both medical and recreation. I'm 100% on board with it used as a medication for many issues both physical and mental. CBD and THC have been proven time and time again to be a non addictive pain killer and they also alleviate other medical issues. I'm also 100% on board on using it as a "recreation" drug. I do not promote drug use but pot is less destructive to the body and mind than alcohol or tobacco.

As for potency, I would guess it's like 10x more than what I smoked and grew some 30 yrs ago in college. It's probably cleaner and more refined. It's probably 10x the price too. Back in my day it was around $20 an eighth, $40 for a quarter oz then you clean out seeds and stems. Now days it probably doesn't contain seed or stems. I don't even know the last time I smoked any. Maybe I should stop in at the pot shop one of these days. My guess is with one inhale, I'd probably be zonked out for half a day.

If you want to grow your own, here in MA you can legally grow 6 plants/person (have to be 21 yrs or older) with a max of 12 plants/home.

Cannabutter is actual butter infused with MJ to make edibles. Butter is the perfect vessel for THC because of the fat compounds for it to bond to. Also, you can use the butter to make several different foods, and/or refrigerate or freeze it which helps keep the THC fresh and potent.

The "budder" you're referring to (spelled with d's) is a type of concentrate or "dab" as the kids call it. It can be smoked with a torch lighter and is best as a topper with a bowl of flower.

Yes, I’ve tried the dabs and wax and didn’t really care for it much. The butter I’ve made myself but it was a pain in the butt(er). I finally found a place that sold the butter and I usually put it on English muffins and ate it with scrambled eggs. Then suddenly they stopped selling it and I haven’t had it since.

What’s that song about the needle and spoon?

Wheel was right? Gateway drug.

Rfenster don’t inject another marijuana ever again!

Heard a house representative go on the record he believes both bills will go down in failure. To hear him talk was literally laughable. The radio host gave him avenues and he wasn't budging. Even when faced with the taxation and anti-crime angles...wasn't having it. No wonder it's stalled for so long in Tallahassee. It's all the wrong thinking to stave off progress. Dragging the dead across the finish line isn't a good look. When you couple the weather, the beaches, being a perennial Spring Break destination, and the amusement parks it's a no-brainer.

I believe it passes with close to 70%.

That’s useful information. Thanks. Next time in close to a medical grade dispensary I’ll probably try this.

Need 23 states...not districts or territories to have it voted in as recreational and the Feds have to change their laws. The states have superceded them. I think it's going to be sooner than 10-15 years.

It's stupid that they still want to hold on to it's classification.

PA is trying to repeal a law that says if you have a medical card, you can't have a concealed carry permit. Even though you can carry your gun into a bar in PA. Even though you can consume alcohol with a gun on you. You can't carry a gun if u use MJ even when not carrying. Stupid law considering alcohol is much more likely to cause you to make a dumb decision with that gun.

26 makes more sense because that becomes the majority. Even if it isn't on Florida's ballot, it's been on 3-4 states ballots in every presidential election since 2012. So hopefully November will break that threshold.

I'm anti all war, including the drug war.

Adults can do what they want as long as it doesn't hurt others.

That's my take on it.

So MJ is classified as having no medical use? And it's classified as being worse and more addictive than the synthetic heroin and meth the FDA allows big pharma to peddle? That's a joke.

Always has been a joke...

rfenst, what I find so ironic is that the demographic of age 65+ has been the fasting growing percentage of first time users and it is due to medical MJ. The same demographic has the lowest support for decriminalizing MJ. How’s that for a head scratcher?