The activists who want to place another legalization of marijuana on Florida’s ballot have enough signatures for the state to begin the next step in the process. This will trigger a fiscal review and judicial evaluation by officials.
About five months after filing the measure and launching a signature drive, the campaign Smart & Safe Florida has collected 377,832 valid signatures—about 150,000 more than required to kick off the review process, according to the state Division of Elections.
The campaign is making a second effort to legalize adult use at the ballot box after the first attempt fell just short of the steep 60% threshold that was required to become law last year. However, it still received a majority vote.
For the petition to be included on the ballot the activists need 880.062 valid voter signatures, and a minimal of 8 percent in half the districts.
With its current number of signatures, the campaign is a step closer to achieving its first goal. Now, the state has a legal obligation to review the measure in a financial and judicial manner. This will help determine the measure’s eligibility for law and let the voters know about the potential impact on the economy.
This latest initiative has been filed at the Secretary of State’s Office just a few months after a previous version was rejected during the election in November 2024 despite the endorsement by President Donald Trump.
Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026. The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.
The law now states specifically that smoking and vaping marijuana is not allowed in public areas.The law states in another section that “the legislature must approve regulations regulating when, where, and how marijuana can be consumed publicly.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been critical of 2024 over this issue. He claimed that there was no way to stop public smoking.
According to the Governor, in February he said that the Supreme Court was having “big problems” with this newest bill and predicted its blocking from coming before voters.
DeSantis stated, “There are many different views on marijuana.” It shouldn’t be in the Constitution. You can vote for your legislator if you are strongly against it. You can go back and talk to candidates who you feel will be capable of delivering what your vision for that is.”
“But when you put these things in the Constitution—and I think, I mean, the way they wrote, there’s all kinds of things going on in here. He said, “I think the Florida Supreme Court will have a lot of trouble with this.”
Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. He doesn’t explain why this version of the campaign would have a different result.
While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of independents and 55 percent of Republicans.
There is some conflict between the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s recent survey, which found majority support among voters likely to vote (53%) but that was not enough for it to become law under the required 60%.
In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed a GOP-led bill last month to impose significant restrictions on the ability to put initiatives on the ballot—a plan that could impair efforts to let voters decide on marijuana legalization next year.
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Separately, a Florida GOP senator claimed recently that the legalization campaign “tricked” Trump into supporting the 2024 measure by misleading him and the general public about key provisions.
Ahead of the election, Trump said in September that he felt Amendment 3 was “going to be very good” for the state.
Before making the comments, Trump met with the CEO of Trulieve, Kim Rivers, as well as with a GOP state senator who is in favor of the reform.
While Trump endorsed the Florida cannabis initiative—as well as federal rescheduling and industry banking access—he has since been silent on cannabis issues. Trump’s cabinet has a mixed record on marijuana policies.
Nevada Governor Signs a Bill to Stop People from Being Disqualified as Foster Parents Because of Past Marijuana Offenses
Side Pocket Images. Image courtesy Chris Wallis.
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