TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments next week over whether recreational marijuana should be on the ballot in 2024.
A group called Smart & Safe Florida wants to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot next November to let voters decide whether adults 21 or older should be allowed to possess, purchase or use marijuana products for non-medicinal reasons.
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Oral arguments are set for Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Tallahassee.
The proposed amendment has enough signatures from Florida residents to get on the November 2024 ballot. However, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is trying to keep the amendment off of it.
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In a petition filed with the state Supreme Court back in June, Moody said the ballot’s language was misleading to voters and did not make it clear enough that while the amendment would make recreational marijuana legal in the eyes of Florida law, it would still be federally illegal.
In 2016, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to allow medical marijuana in the state. Moody said the Supreme Court erred in allowing that amendment onto the ballot.
“Voters need clear guidance before being asked to lift state-law penalties for the possession of a substance that would subject users to devastating criminal liability under federal law,” Moody said.
Moody also says the ballot summary language does not mention the fact that the amendment language itself bans possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana.
“If the amendment passed, not even the Legislature would be able to clear the way for possession of greater amounts of marijuana. Were voters warned that the amendment would restrict marijuana possession in this way — effectively banning most or all marijuana cultivation — they might reconsider their support for the initiative,” Moody wrote.
Moody’s petition points out that there have been 20 bills in the last decade to eliminate state penalties on recreational marijuana, and all of those bills have failed to pass.
Smart & Safe Florida, in responding to Moody’s criticisms, said the group followed the roadmap the court has established in the past for sponsors of marijuana-related ballot initiatives, including ones that were rejected by the court, and says Moody is telling the court to abandon precedent.
“This Court approved the language for a reason: It unambiguously informs voters that the amendment does not alter federal law or immunize violations of federal law. And SSF relied on this Court’s clear guidance in undertaking the costly campaign to put the issue on the ballot,” attorneys for SSF wrote in their response to Moody’s brief.
SSF also denies that the bill would tie the Legislature’s hands with regard to regulating possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana.
“Those limits do no more than define the scope of the conduct permitted by the Proposed Amendment itself. They do not establish an independent prohibition on future legislative action,” SSF wrote.
It’s not known how the Supreme Court will respond. Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed far more conservative justices to the Supreme Court. Seven of the nine justices were appointed by him.
DeSantis, who is running for the Republican nomination for president, has said that he would not support nationally decriminalizing marijuana.
In order for a constitutional amendment to be approved in Florida, at least 60% of voters must vote in favor of it.
Twenty-three states and the District of Columbia have legalized recreational marijuana for personal use. Ohio is considering an amendment on recreational marijuana in next week’s election.
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