Florida Supreme Court OKs ballot measure on recreational marijuana

In a blow to Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida conservatives opposed to the measure, the state’s Supreme Court on Monday approved a recreational marijuana constitutional amendment for the November 2024 statewide ballot.

The proposal, known as Amendment 3, will legalize the “non-medical personal use of marijuana products and marijuana accessories by an adult” 21 or older if approved by 60% or more of statewide voters. It would take effect six months after the election.

In 2021, the court rejected two proposed constitutional amendments for recreational marijuana. But this time five justices ruled favorably on the measure with only two opposing.

The amendment was the subject of a multi-million-dollar campaign, spearheaded by Smart & Safe Florida, a group that’s collected more than $40 million in recent years for the purpose. Two dozen states have already legalized recreational weed.

The Florida amendment would allow non-medical marijuana possession of up to 3 ounces, with no more than 5 grams in concentrated form.

To get a measure on the Florida ballot, supporters must first get 891,523 signatures from residents. The Supreme Court then must decide whether the amendment language sticks to a single subject and isn’t misleading, which can be a difficult threshold to overcome.

But, for the majority of justices, it met that bar.

“In light of those limited considerations, we approve the proposed amendment for placement on the ballot,” Justice Jamie Grosshans, appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, in the majority opinion.

The state Supreme Court Monday also effectively upheld a six-week abortion ban but also OK’d a ballot measure that would guarantee access to abortion, even further raising the stakes of an already-pivotal presidential election.

“In light of those limited considerations, we approve the proposed amendment for placement on the ballot.”

Justice Jamie Grosshans

Florida attorney general opposes recreational pot

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody had argued against the ballot measure. She said it didn’t overcome the threshold, accusing it of being misleading.

She also said it gave an unfair advantage to Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical marijuana operator, which has contributed the vast majority of the funds for Smart & Safe Florida’s campaign.

In a statement Monday afternoon, Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers applauded the decision, saying in an email, “We look forward to supporting this campaign as it heads to the ballot this Fall.”

Medical marijuana came to Florida following a 2016 ballot measure that more than 71% of voters approved. Past polling has shown a wide swath of Floridians supporting the 2024 measure.

DeSantis, who’s appointed five of the court’s seven justices, had predicted they would OK the recreational marijuana measure but recently said he worried about the smell of the substance.

“I’ve gone to some of these cities that have had this everywhere, it smells, there’s all these things,” DeSantis said at a press conference in early March. “I don’t want to ... walk in front of shops and have this. I don’t want every hotel to really smell.”

DeSantis also said he was concerned that that the referendum, were it to pass, would prevent the state from placing restrictions on where and when marijuana can be consumed, even allowing it to be smoked near schools. He said the amendment was written with “the broadest language I’ve ever seen.”

Justice Meredith Sasso, a DeSantis appointee who was one of the dissenters, wrote that she believed the amendment misled voters. For example, she pointed to how the amendment said it “allows” recreational marijuana.

Moody had argued in court filings that it’s incorrect for the petitioners to say the amendment is going to “allow” marijuana, even if it becomes legal in Florida, like it already is in more than 20 other states. That’s misleading, she says, since it’s unlawful federally.

But Grosshans wrote for the majority the “the summary is not misleading for failure to warn that the amendment only covers Florida law and not federal law,” citing the court’s previous medical marijuana rulings.

This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA TODAY Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule can be reached at DSoule@gannett.com.