Florida Marijuana Campaign has now collected 75 percent of signatures needed to put legalization on 2026 ballot

According to officials, a Florida-based campaign has collected over 75 percent of signatures needed to get a marijuana-legalization initiative onto the ballot for 2026.

Smart & Safe Florida began signature gathering for the measure in January, making steady progress as takes a second stab at enacting the constitutional amendment at the ballot after a 2024 version of the legalization measure fell short.

According to the Florida Division of Elections, activists have collected an additional 50,000 valid signatures in the past month, for a grand total of 661 327. For ballot placement they will need at least 880,062 signatures.

In addition to that signature total from registered voters, Smart & Safe Florida must also gather them from a minimum of 8 percent of voters in at least half of the state’s congressional districts. The campaign currently exceeds the required threshold in 5 of 28 districts. However, it is very close in many others.

In June, the state affirmed that the campaign collected enough for the 2026 initiative to trigger a fiscal and judicial review.

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said in February that the newest measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting it will be blocked from going before voters next year.

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. “Go back to the candidates you think will deliver your vision on this.”

“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.”

With its current signature total, the campaign already achieved one of its first milestones. Now, the state has a legal obligation to review the measure in judicial and economic terms. This will help determine the measure’s eligibility for law and let the voters know about the potential impact on the economy.

The latest initiative was filed with the secretary of state’s office just months after the initial version failed during the November 2024 election—despite an endorsement from 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 governing the regulation of time, place and manner for public consumption.”

Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney general. The governor’s reasoning for believing that this version will face a completely different outcome is not clear.

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.

However, the results conflict with another recent poll from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, a proactive opponent of legalization, that found majority support for the reform among likely voter (53 percent) but not enough to be enacted under the 60 percent requirement.

Just 40 percent of Florida Republicans surveyed in a recent poll said that they support legalization.

In the background of the campaign’s signature development, DeSantis signed a GOP-led bill in June 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. Scotts Miracle Gro CEO, Scotts Miracle Gro, said on Thursday that Trump, in private, has committed to completing the federal rescheduling since taking office.

Meanwhile in Florida, some medical marijuana patients and caregivers in Florida could see their state cannabis registrations revoked under a bill recently signed into law by the governor.

DeSantis has approved SB 2514. This is a large budget bill which touches on many health issues, including cancer and dentistry. But it also contains a provision that directs the state Department of Health (DOH) to cancel registrations of medical marijuana patients and caregivers if they’re convicted of—or plead guilty or no contest to—criminal drug charges.