As a constitutional amendment, a legalization initiative in Florida would bypass the state's GOP-controlled Legislature, which has ignored similar bills filed by lawmakers over the past few years. During arguments about the initiative, Florida’s conservative Supreme Court seemed to be in favor of the initiative, Politico reports. The ballot initiative seeks to legalize marijuana use for anyone 21-years-old or older while leaving additional issues of licensing up to the GOP-led Legislature. on Wednesday.
If not blocked by the court, the pot legalization language will go on the ballot and must be approved by at least 60% of voters. It was sponsored by the Smart & Safe Florida, which is backed by Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana producer. Smart & Safe has already collected more than 1 million valid signatures, surpassing the more than 891,000 required to qualify for the ballot by February and be on the 2024 ballot. Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is now running for president, has said on the campaign trail that recreational pot is a problem and has said “drugs are killing this country.” Five of the state’s seven Supreme Court justices were appointed by DeSantis, including Chief Justice Carlos G. Muñiz, who said the ballot language did not mislead voters.
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