Second attempt at recreational legalization fails
(c) Can Stock Photo / svanblar
In early February, amendment organizer Smart and Safe Florida found itself at an impasse while trying to get recreational marijuana use on the November 2026 ballot – having 70,000 signatures being invalidated and the Florida Supreme Court deciding not to formally review the ballot language for lack of enough qualified signatures. The Secretary of State’s office had removed 41,894 signatures for being from “inactive voters” and another 27,752 for being collected by people who weren’t Florida residents, under tougher rules passed by the 2025 Florida Legislature. Smart and Safe Florida pushed back, calling the Supreme Court decision “premature” and filing for a legal review of the state’s new rules and their application. Its effort for this year is now dead, with the Florida Supreme Court on March 9 declining the review without giving a reason, stating only “No motion for rehearing will be entertained by the Court.”
This seems to amount to all but a unilateral “no” from Florida institutions regarding legalization of recreational marijuana , though the signature gathering by nonresidents issue is currently being challenged in federal court. Florida Attorney General James Uthemier added a few choice words, posting on X, “Even with all the fraud and forgery, the latest weed initiative couldn’t garner enough public support to make the ballot. The Florida Supreme Court appropriately just dismissed the case. Floridians can continue to breathe the free air for another election cycle.”
This marks the second time recreational weed has been struck down from becoming a reality, with the first effort successfully making its way to the 2024 ballot but falling short (56%) of the 60% supermajority needed to pass. Proponents of the movement, such as Smart and Safe Florida and Florida-based marijuana mogul and Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers are continuing advocacy efforts across the state and are likely to give the initiative another go in the next voting cycle in 2028.
So far, only two proposed state constitutional amendments will be on the November ballot, courtesy of the 2025 Florida Legislature: budget stabilization and an exemption of agricultural land from tangible personal property taxation. The current legislature, however, is expected to meet in a special session later this year to consider creating a proposed ballot measure to reduce or eliminate property taxes. In all, 25 proposed amendments didn’t make the cut this year, about the average for historical ballot initiative certified percentages.
I rarely offer an opinion on non-insurance issues in this newsletter, but marijuana is a growing problem in Florida. Its medical use was legalized in 2016 by voters and today, 10 years later, we regularly hear stories from school officials about the scent of pot from parents’ cars waiting in line to pick up their children after classes. There are certainly two sides of this issue, including from civil libertarians, but marijuana use does nothing to address today’s challenges in society. In fact, new research shows that cannabis use disorder is a rapidly growing addiction in the U.S.
LMA Newsletter of 3-16-26
