Politics
Florida Voters Reject Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure Endorsed By Trump And Opposed By DeSantis
Florida voters have rejected an initiative to legalize marijuana for adult use.
While the measure got a clear majority of votes, it failed to achieve the steep 60 percent vote threshold needed to pass a constitutional amendment under state law.
The initiative did benefit from major endorsements, including that of former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee and a Florida resident who said he would vote for it. At the same time, it faced a concerted opposition campaign from top officials such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state Republican Party.
“Tonight, a strong majority of Floridians voted in support of legalizing recreational marijuana for adults,” the campaign said in a press release. “While the results of Amendment 3 did not clear the 60 percent threshold, we are eager to work with the governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults, addressing public consumption, continuing our focus on child safety, and expanding access to safe marijuana through home grow.”
“We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the majority of Florida voters who voted yes on Amendment 3 and everyone who stood with us in this effort,” they said. “We remain committed to advocating for a smarter and safer Florida and will continue to work towards solutions that benefit all Floridians.”
— Yes On 3 Florida (@yeson3florida) November 6, 2024
Summary of Amendment 3
- Adults 21 and older would have been able to purchase and possess up to three ounces of cannabis for personal use. The cap for marijuana concentrates would have been five grams.
- Medical cannabis dispensaries could have had the ability to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute marijuana products and marijuana accessories to adults for personal use.”
- The legislature would have been authorized—but not required—to approve additional entities that are not currently licensed cannabis dispensaries.
- The initiative specified that nothing in the proposal prevented the legislature from “enacting laws that are consistent with this amendment.”
- The amendment further clarified that nothing about the proposal would have affected federal law, which seemed to be an effort to avoid past legal challenges about misleading ballot language.
- There were no provisions for home cultivation, expungement of prior records or social equity.
- The measure would have taken effect six months following this approval by voters.
Here’s the full text of the ballot title and summary:
“Allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise; allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Establishes possession limits for personal use. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.”
Pro-legalization effort
The Smart & Safe Florida campaign took in over $150 million—with funding coming primarily from large cannabis companies such as Trulieve, the multi-state operator that has contributed tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.
Trulieve separately filed a defamation suit against the state’s Republican Party, alleging it’s knowingly deceived voters about the proposed constitutional change known as Amendment 3.
Smart & Safe Florida rolled out a series of ads in September—including one calling out the hypocrisy of criminalizing cannabis while alcohol is legally available and another featuring a county sheriff making the case for ending marijuana prohibition.
In October, advocates aired another pair of ads, including one that features clips of Trump endorsing the cannabis reform proposal—with a call for voters to “join” him in supporting the measure.
The promotion came just weeks after Smart & Safe Florida released a separate ad highlighting the fact that both major party presidential nominees—Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris—as well as their running mates share at least one thing in common: They don’t believe in criminalizing people over cannabis.
The Florida campaign also released another ad featuring state Sen. Joe Gruters (R), who’s endorsed the initiative. In that ad, the GOP senator and former chair of the Florida Republican Party said he’s “as MAGA as they come,” referencing his support for Trump.
Gruters and Sen. Shevrin Jones (D) also teamed up to promote the state marijuana legalization initiative in another campaign ad. The bipartisan senators stood side-by-side, acknowledging that while they “don’t agree on much—hardly anything” and would be each voting for their respective party’s presidential nominee, they “do agree on this: Amendment 3 is good for Florida.”
Bipartisan Florida senators hit back at the governor over the use of taxpayer dollars to fund anti-marijuana ads ahead of the legalization vote—with one Republican member saying state agencies “owe an explanation” if reports are true that millions were diverted from an opioid-related settlement account to promote the cannabis “propaganda.”
Meanwhile, Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former state agriculture commissioner, has endorsed Amendment 3. And the chair also laid out a framework for regulating cannabis that she thinks the legislature should enact if voters do approve the reform. That involves automatic expungements for prior marijuana convictions, taking steps to mitigate the risk of monopolization in the industry and directing tax revenue to Black communities and education.
Opposition effort
While polling consistently demonstrated that the ballot measure enjoyed majority support from Democrats and Republicans alike—and despite the fact that Trump has endorsed it as well—Florida’s governor did not relent in his crusade to defeat it.
With polls now closed in Florida —
Amendment 3 has failed.
Amendment 4 has failed.
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) November 6, 2024
DeSantis has faced allegations of weaponizing state departments to push anti-legalization narratives through various PSAs in recent weeks—prompting one Democratic state senator to sue over what he claimed was an unconstitutional appropriation of tax dollars. A Florida judge has since dismissed that lawsuit due to what he claimed to be a lack of standing and claim of injury.
Ads from multiple state agencies—including the Departments of Transportation, Education, Health and Children & Families—have aired in recent weeks. The one that a Democratic senator sued over came from the transportation department, which asserted that “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.” That was dismissed by a state circuit court, however.
Opponents of Amendment 3 hired a number of right-wing influencers—including former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, actor Kevin Sorbo and affiliates of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA—to post critically on social media about the policy proposal, claiming, for example, that it would hand control of the cannabis market to “greedy” corporate actors and that the smell of marijuana would be “EVERYWHERE.”
🎉 VICTORY IN FLORIDA! 🎉
Florida has REJECTED marijuana legalization. A huge step in preventing another big tobacco and keeping our communities safe. Thank you to everyone who stood with us! pic.twitter.com/pXrizYNESF
— SAM (@learnaboutsam) November 6, 2024
The former head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under then-President Bill Clinton had urged Florida voters to reject the marijuana legalization initiative, arguing that it would create a “new addiction-for-profit industry” in the state.
A political committee opposing the legalization measure received a half-million-dollar contribution from an organization that Elon Musk reportedly used to quietly support DeSantis before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. At the same time, the pro-legalization campaign has officially exceeded $100 million in total contributions.
Where Florida congressional representatives stood
A GOP congressman who was previously arrested over marijuana said in October that he would be voting against the measure. While Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) said in September that he was undecided on marijuana legalization, the congressman later affirmed he will be a “no” vote on the initiative.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), for his part, has said he intended to vote against it, strictly because he feels the reform should be enacted statutorily, rather than as a constitutional amendment that would prove more challenging to amend.
On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure would pass.
Polling
Polling on Amendment 3 fluctuated over the course of the election cycle, though it fairly consistently found majority support for the proposal—even if it hasn’t always reached the 60 percent threshold.
An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey that was released last month found that support for Amendment 3 is at 60 percent, while 34 percent are opposed and 6 percent remain undecided.
Meanwhile, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which publicly opposed the cannabis measure, also came out with its latest poll on the issue last month. It found support for the reform from likely voters at 57 percent—a majority but not quite enough to secure passage.
A previous survey from the chamber that was released in September 2024 found that 59 percent of likely voters in the state backed Amendment 3.
A poll from the James Madison Institute (JMI) from August 2024 showed 64 percent of likely voters in Florida were in favor of the legalization proposal.
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.