Florida's GOP Attorney General Argues Against Cannabis Legalization Initiative In State Supreme Court

Florida’s ballot initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis reached the state Supreme Court. Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) formally submitted the initiative to the court announcing her opposition to the proposal and her plan to argue that the proposal fails to fulfill all the legal requirements, reported CBS News.

The news comes shortly after Trulieve Cannabis TCNNF, one of the campaign’s biggest financiers, announced that the Smart & Safe Florida campaign has collected enough signatures to qualify the initiative for the state's 2024 ballot. Thus far, Trulieve has poured in a minimum of $30 million into the campaign, of which more than $19 million was spent on petition collection and verification expenses.

For the petition to obtain a needed Supreme Court review, it needs to have a minimum of 222,881 signatures, something Safe & Smart Florida far surpassed. According to the state Division of Elections website, the petition had a total of 786,747 validated signatures. To reach the November 2024 ballot, the initiative needs to collect 891,523 signatures and the approval of the Supreme Court.

If approved, the proposition would allow adults over 21 "to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise." However, the initiative would not allow home cultivation for personal use.

AG Opposes The Initiative, Sponsors Respond

On Monday, Moody asked the opinion from the Supreme Court about the initiative, writing that “the proposed amendment fails to meet the requirements" of part of state law. At this time, Moody was not specific, though she added that the court plans to “present an additional argument through a briefing at the appropriate time.”

Safe & Smart was quick to respond. “We appreciate General Moody’s transmittal to the Supreme Court but respectfully disagree with her statement that she believes it does not comply,” as reported by Florida Politics. “We very much look forward to her analysis but more importantly to both written and oral arguments before the Florida Supreme Court and a positive ruling from that court. As an aside, it is important to note that the opinion of the Attorney General is not binding and that this matter will be decided after both sides have had their say before the Florida Supreme Court.”

Trulieve was quick to comment. The company’s spokesman Steve Vancore said it expects a positive ruling from the court.

“As a majority of American adults now enjoy the freedom to use cannabis for personal consumption, we hope the court will agree that the Smart & Safe amendment meets Florida’s ballot sufficiency laws and will allow the voters to have a vote on this important matter,” Vancore said.

The measure - "Adult Personal Use of Marijuana" - proposing a constitutional amendment to legalize marijuana would enable already-existing medical marijuana operators to start selling recreational cannabis. This move could significantly boost Trulieve's market position.

Photo: Benzing edit with images by Teanna Morgan on Unsplash and Wikimedia Commons