Florida Gov. Predicts Voters Will Decide Cannabis Legalization Issue This Year

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said last week that he thinks the Florida Supreme Court will allow an adult-use cannabis legalization proposal to appear on this year’s ballot despite legal challenges brought by the attorney general, Marijuana Moment reports.

DeSantis, who recently ended his longshot campaign in the Republican presidential primaries, was asked during his final campaign event about the ballot initiative. “I think the court is going to approve that,” the governor said, “so it’ll be on the ballot.” It is unclear whether DeSantis knew more than what’s publicly available about the issue or if he was simply making a prediction based on recent observations, the report said.

In either case, the initiative does seem likely to appear before voters after Florida Supreme Court Justice Charles T. Canady said in November that he was “baffled” by the legal challenge brought by Attorney General Ashley Moody’s legal team. The challenge claims the initiative would somehow trick voters into believing they would be protected from federal law, and should be disqualified, even though the initiative explicitly states that it would only apply to Florida law and “does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law.”

Brought by the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, the initiative qualified for the 2024 ballot after advocates submitted about a million voter signatures in support of the legalization bid. The proposal is a constitutional amendment — meaning it will require at least 60% voter approval to pass — and seeks to legalize the possession of up to three ounces of cannabis for personal use and authorize current medical cannabis dispensaries to retail cannabis for adult use.