TAMPA, Fla. — The road to recreational marijuana in Florida has cleared a major hurdle after a petition that’s been circulating around the state gained enough signatures for the measure to be on the 2024 ballot.
About 970,000 Floridians signed the petition to put recreational marijuana on the ballot next year, which is nearly 100,000 more than the required amount.
“We're not talking about smoking and driving and things of that nature. We're talking about responsible adult use,” said Michael Minardi, campaign manager for Regulate Florida.
Minardi, who supports responsible medicinal and recreational marijuana use, was excited to hear the recent petition to legalize recreational marijuana in the Sunshine State passed the minimum signature threshold to get on next year’s ballot.
“I'm out in the community regularly talking to people throughout the state regarding this issue and people support it,” he said.
The petition, sponsored by Safe and Smart Florida, was largely funded by Trulieve, who, according to Regulate Florida, hired petitioners throughout the state to talk with Floridians about this measure.
Florida’s state department says the petition received close to 967,528 signatures.
“Anything that pushes legalization forward and stops getting people arrested is something that we have to support,” Minardi said.
But Ashley Moody, Florida’s Attorney General, isn’t supporting this measure as its currently written.
In her letter to the state Supreme Court, she says the measure didn’t pass the smell test when it comes to clear verbiage so she’ll be arguing against it.
As a result, she’s asking the highest court in the state for their opinion on the matter.
Either way, Minardi says based on the conversations he’s had throughout Florida, he feels like many locals are ready for Florida to be the 22nd state to legalize recreational use.
“We're going to continue to fight that, get out the information, fight the misinformation and get people to the polls to vote yes on this constitutional amendment,” said Minardi.
We received a statement from Smart and Safe Florida, who are the sponsors of the petition who said, “We are thrilled to announce that we have gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the 2024 ballot. Floridians will soon have the ability to vote to give themselves the same freedoms already enjoyed by over half Americans. Thank you to our campaign leaders, The Bellamy Brothers, Trulieve and especially to the hundreds of thousands of voters who signed our petition.”