The Florida Supreme Court on Monday granted a request from state Attorney General Ashley Moody for more time to challenge a proposed ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana that has the support of more than one million of the state’s registered voters. If passed in next year’s general election, the initiative from Smart & Safe Florida would legalize cannabis for adults 21 and older and set the stage for regulated sales of recreational marijuana at licensed dispensaries throughout the state.
The Florida Supreme Court has granted a request from the state attorney general for more time to … [+]
The proposed ballot initiative would allow the state’s current providers of medical marijuana, which was legalized in Florida in 2016, to begin selling cannabis to all adults aged 21 and up. Consumers would be permitted to purchase up to three ounces of marijuana at a time, including no more than five grams of cannabis concentrates. The proposed constitutional amendment allows state lawmakers to authorize additional adult-use cannabis business licenses, although there is no requirement for the legislature to do so. The initiative also retains Florida’s current vertically integrated business structure, which requires operators to control the production and marketing of marijuana from seed to sale.
Initiative Has Enough Signatures To Qualify For 2024 Ballot
In June, state elections officials revealed that the adult-use cannabis legalization proposal from Smart & Safe Florida had received enough signatures to qualify for the 2024 general election ballot. And earlier this month, after the campaign submitted additional signatures, the elections division confirmed that more than a million Florida voters support the marijuana legalization effort.
Before voters get a chance to decide on the measure, however, it must first pass muster with the Florida Supreme Court, which is responsible for verifying that the measure is limited to a single issue and is not likely to confuse voters. In 2021, the Florida Supreme Court invalidated marijuana legalization bids on two separate occasions.
Late last month, Moody filed a challenge to the proposed ballot measure with the state Supreme Court, arguing that the marijuana legalization initiative should not appear before voters in next year’s general election. Kylie Mason, the communications director for Moody’s office, said that the ballot measure is likely to confuse voters.
“When voters decide whether to amend the Florida Constitution, it is essential that they know what they are voting for,” Mason said in a statement. “It is the duty of our office to address the validity of an initiative petition before it appears on a ballot. It is incumbent upon us to inform the Court when a ballot summary misleads voters about the effects of the proposed constitutional change.”
Attorney General Asks For More Time
On Monday, Moody filed a motion with the Supreme Court requesting a seven-day extension of a deadline to file briefs in the case. Later the same day, the court granted the request, giving the attorney general until August 2 to submit arguments supporting Moody’s assessment that the initiative does not meet state requirements.
Moody, along with the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Drug Free America Foundation, told the court that they had “numerous other responsibilities during the relevant period” to justify the requested extension, online cannabis new resource Marijuana Moment reported on Tuesday.
If approved for the ballot, Florida voters will likely decide on the marijuana legalization … [+]
The attorney general’s request noted that the court had accepted a brief from the ACLU two days after the deadline for such filings. The motion also noted that Moody’s office is currently busy drafting briefs in two unrelated cases in addition to pending fundamental administrative tasks.
“As a result, the current deadline gives the opponents just three business days to respond to the arguments in that brief,” the attorney general’s motion stated.
Smart & Safe Florida opposed the seven-day extension requested by the attorney general and instead agreed to a two-day delay. The Supreme Court, however, granted the full extension requested by the state’s top prosecutor, but noted further requests for more time may not be approved.
“Multiple extensions of time for the same filing are discouraged,” the court wrote in its order granting the motion. “Absent extenuating circumstances, subsequent requests may be denied.”
If the Florida Supreme Court approves the marijuana legalization ballot measure or does not issue a ruling by April 1, 2024, the proposal will likely appear on the ballot for the 2024 general election. To pass, it must receive at least 60% of the votes cast.