Just two months after an effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed, a new push has begun.
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Smart & Safe Florida has gone back to the drawing board and put forth a renewed effort to legalize recreational cannabis in 2026.
The new language addresses many of the concerns raised by opponents last year by allowing the legislature to set time, place, and manner restrictions and opening the door for home growth and more businesses to enter the marketplace.
They’re all welcome changes in the eyes of marijuana advocates like Jodi James, President of the Florida Cannabis Action Network.
“It’s very obvious that the folks who wrote Smart & Safe 2.0 were really listening to the concerns of the Governor and the legislature,” said James.
But the renewed push comes as the Governor is seeking to crack down on the citizen initiative process.
“Making sure that these signatures are verified, either through the mail or if someone is bringing it in person, is really, really significant,” said Governor Ron DeSantis in a recent press conference.
According to a memo from the governor’s office, changes could include requiring voters to request petitions directly from and return them to election supervisors.
Power to write fiscal impact statements could also be given solely to appointees chosen by the Governor, and private citizens could be given the ability to challenge the certification of initiatives.
State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando) argued the changes would be a death blow to the citizen initiative process.
“This is clearly another power grab by Governor Ron DeSantis to squash the will of the voters and make it impossible for us to engage in direct democracy to amend out state constitution,” said Eskamani.
The Governor has called on legislators to take up the issue in the upcoming special session set for January 27th.
Republican lawmakers like State Representative Dean Black (R-Yulee) told Action News Jax they still need to see actual legislation before weighing in, but generally agree more restrictions on the initiative process should be considered.
“This is an example of wealthy corporations bypassing the people’s elected representatives and using their money to try to buy themselves an amendment in the Florida Constitution,” said Black. ”That’s wrong. That should change.”
It’s still not clear whether lawmakers will go along with the Governor’s special session call, as the House Speaker and Senate President have suggested it is unnecessary and premature.
Smart & Safe Florida has roughly two years to collect just shy of 900,000 signatures to get its proposal on the ballot.
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Just two months after an effort to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida failed, a new push has begun. Read More
