John Schroyer
A campaign led by Florida cannabis giant Trulieve to legalize adult use marijuana in the state is nearing the halfway mark in its signature gathering to qualify for the 2024 ballot.
The campaign – Smart & Safe Florida – has collected more than 420,000 signatures, the News Service of Florida reported this week, which is close to half of the 891,589 voter signatures it needs to make the general election ballot.
Though the campaign still has a long way to go, it has been making steady progress. Just last month, it surpassed a 222,898 signature threshold that now requires a review by the state Supreme Court on the initiative wording to ensure constitutionality. The court has stood as a major obstacle for past adult-use legalization campaigns, however, and has ruled that other ballot measures violated the initiative single-subject rule.
If the initiative makes the ballot, it will also face the difficult hurdle of obtaining 60% voter support to become law, since Florida requires a supermajority for ballot measures that amend the state ‘sconstitution.
Trulieve, the largest licensed medical marijuana company in Florida, is bankrolling the ballot measure, and so far has donated more than $25 million.
