Florida Pushes for Recreational Marijuana Legalization Amid Governor’s Efforts to Restrict Petition Process
Just two months after a failed effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida, a new initiative has been launched. Smart & Safe Florida has introduced a revised proposal that addresses concerns raised by opponents last year, allowing the state legislature to set restrictions on time, place, and manner, and opening the door for home growth and more businesses to enter the market.
Marijuana advocates, such as Jodi James, President of the Florida Cannabis Action Network, welcome the changes. “It’s clear that the people behind Smart & Safe 2.0 listened to the concerns of the Governor and the legislature,” James said.
However, the renewed push comes as Governor Ron DeSantis is seeking to tighten restrictions on the citizen initiative process. The Governor’s office has proposed changes that would require voters to request petitions directly from the election supervisors and return them in person, giving the Governor’s appointees the power to write fiscal impact statements, and allowing private citizens to challenge the certification of initiatives.
State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) has criticized the proposed changes, saying they would be a “death blow” to the citizen initiative process and allow the Governor to “squash the will of the voters.”
The Governor has called on lawmakers to take up the issue in a special session set for January 27th. Some Republican lawmakers, such as State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee), have expressed support for more restrictions on the initiative process, but have not yet seen actual legislation.
Smart & Safe Florida has two years to collect just under 900,000 signatures to get its proposal on the ballot. The outcome of the special session and the fate of the initiative remain uncertain.
