Politics
Florida Attorney General Asks Supreme Court To Review 2026 Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative
Florida’s attorney general is asking the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of an initiative to legalize marijuana that activists want to put on the 2026 ballot. The court accepted the request, and has set a schedule for state officials and the cannabis campaign to file briefs next month.
Smart & Safe Florida said last month that it’s collected more than one million signatures to put the cannabis measure on the ballot, but it’s also challenged officials at the state Supreme Court level over delays the certification process, arguing that the review of the ballot content and summary should have moving forward months ago when it reached an initial signature threshold. The state then agreed to move forward with the processing.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) campaigned heavily against an earlier version of the legalization proposal, which received a majority of voters last year but not enough to meet the 60 percent threshold required to pass a constitutional amendment. Former Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) unsuccessfully contested the prior initiative in the courts.
So far, while there’s litigation surrounding certification issues—as well as a separate legal challenge over about 200,000 signatures deemed invalid by the state—the latest filings from the secretary of state’s office and court don’t speak to the substance of the proposed measure.
Rather, the court simply said on Wednesday that it received a request from Attorney General James Uthmeier’s (R) office, in compliance with state statutes around ballot initiatives, to conduct a review and issue an advisory opinion on whether the legalization measure is drafted in a way that adheres to constitutional election laws.
The court said in a filing on Thursday that opponents must provide a brief defending their position by January 2 and provide a copy to the attorney general’s office. Answer briefs must be submitted by January 12, and the opposition must respond to that filing by January 20.
Meanwhile, Smart & Safe Florida is encouraging voters who signed the petition to contact their local election supervisors or the secretary of state’s office to determine whether their signatures were invalidated.
A federal judge in August separately delivered a win to the campaign—granting “complete relief” from provisions of a law the governor signed to impose other serious restrictions on signature gathering.
While the law the governor signed in May wasn’t directly targeted at the cannabis initiative, there’s been concern among supporters that it could jeopardize an already complex and costly process to collect enough signatures to make the ballot. That’s because it would block non-residents and non-citizens from collecting signatures for ballot measures.
In March, meanwhile, two Democratic members of Congress representing Florida asked the federal government to investigate what they described as “potentially unlawful diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds via a group with ties to Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). The money was used to fight against a citizen ballot initiative, vehemently opposed by the governor, that would have legalized marijuana for adults.
The lawmakers’ letter followed allegations that a $10 million donation from a state legal settlement was improperly made to the Hope Florida Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, which in turn sent $8.5 million to a campaign opposing Amendment 3.
The governor said in February that the newest marijuana legalization 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.
The latest initiative was filed with the secretary of state’s office just months after the 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.”
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.
—
Marijuana Moment is tracking hundreds of cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters pledging at least $25/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don’t miss any developments.
Learn more about our marijuana bill tracker and become a supporter on Patreon to get access.
—
In the background, a recent poll from a Trump-affiliated research firm found that nearly 9 in 10 Florida voters say they should have the right to decide to legalize marijuana in the state.
Meanwhile, a pro-legalization GOP state lawmaker recently filed a bill to amend state law to codify that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.
Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said earlier this year that embracing cannabis reform is a way for the Republican party to secure more votes from young people.
Separately, Florida medical marijuana officials are actively revoking the registrations of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records. The policy is part of broad budget legislation signed into law earlier this year by DeSantis. The provisions in question direct the state Department of Health (DOH) to cancel registrations of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if they’re convicted of—or plead guilty or no contest to—criminal drug charges.
Photo elements courtesy of rawpixel and Philip Steffan.
