Marijuana Legalization In Florida: The State Supreme Court Will Soon Consider The Initiative

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) formally submitted an initiative to legalize adult-use cannabis to the state Supreme Court earlier this month. Some two weeks later, the court provided more details on the next steps, reported Marijuana Moment.

Last week, the court addressed Moody's opposition to the proposal as she had submitted an opinion calling into question the reform measure based on a single subject challenge.

Before making a final decision on the issue, the court said initial briefings are expected by June 12, with the following reply briefs due for submission by July 5 and 12.

Moody expressed her opposition shortly after Trulieve Cannabis Corp. TRUL 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 at least $30 million into the campaign, of which more than $19 million was spent on petition collection and verification expenses.

To get a needed Supreme Court review, the petition must have a minimum of 222,881 signatures, which 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.

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