For the amendment to become a law, at least 60% of Floridians must approve it. Florida voters passed the state’s medical marijuana marketplace with 71% of the vote in 2016, but state officials have expressed their opposition to the proposed amendment.
Here’s more on the in’s and out’s of the amendment:
What does the amendment say?
Amendment 3 would allow non-medical marijuana use and would remove criminal or civil penalties for adults over 21 who possess and use up to three ounces of pot for personal use.
It also says that it allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute ‘‘ cannabis products and accessories.
If voters support the Florida amendment, it will go into effect six months after the election.
What do opponents say?
Gov. Ron DeSantis and other state officials like Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody are in opposition to the amendment.
Moody pushed to prevent the amendment from being on the ballot as she argued that its wording was unclear and could confuse voters as to the legality of marijuana, which remains illegal under federal law.
Justices Renatha Francis and Meredith Sasso wrote in dissenting opinions published Monday that they agreed the language would be misleading.
In March, DeSantis said that the amendment was “incredibly broad” and said that people being able to smoke pot anywhere could pose a quality of life issue.
“If you’re saying you can’t regulate it or you can’t limit it, which that’s how I read that, that could be a big problem,” he said.
Despite the opposition, the amendment was approved in a 5-2 decision by the court.
What do advocates say?
The majority of the conservative court voted in favor of putting the amendment on the ballot.
The court’s majority, which included justices Charles Canady, Jorge Labarga and John Couriel,
wrote that the ballot initiative’s summary “clearly states that the amendment legalizes adult personal possession and use of marijuana as a matter of Florida law.”
Justices Carlos Muñiz and Jamie Grosshans also voted in favor for the amendment to be on the ballot and filed their own opinions.
Additionally, over 1 million Florida voters signed petitions in support of the recreational marijuana initiative led by the group Smart & Safe Florida.
The Marijuana company Trulieve is mainly responsible for the nearly $40 million the group had raised as of the end of December.
“We are thankful that the Court has correctly ruled the ballot initiative and summary language meets the standards for single subject and clarity. We look forward to supporting this campaign as it heads to the ballot this Fall,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement Monday.
What is Florida law now?
Currently in the state the recreational usage of marijuana is illegal, but medical marijuana is legal in Florida for qualified patients.