Florida Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on Cannabis Legalization Initiative Next Month

The Florida Supreme Court has scheduled for November 8 oral arguments on the proposed ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adult use, WFLA reports. The challenge to the proposal is led by state Attorney General Ashley Moody who claims the measure “misleads” voters to benefit Trulieve, the state’s largest medical cannabis company. 

According to the ballot question’s summary, the measure would allow “adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption.” However, Moody argues the proposal, if passed, “would not actually allow anything,” because cannabis possession is illegal under federal law.  

Smart and Safe Florida, the sponsor of the petition, argues that Moody’s arguments are a “thinly veiled policy agenda.”  

In oral arguments for the ballot initiative, each side will have 20 minutes to state their case before the Florida Supreme Court. The petition has garnered over 1,033,000 valid signatures from across the state. Adult-use cannabis initiatives had made it onto statewide ballots in 2014 and 2016 but neither surpassed the 60% threshold required for constitutional amendments. The Florida Supreme Court rejected a recreational marijuana initiative in 2021 on the grounds that the ballot summary did not address its contradiction with federal law.