Florida voters rejected a ballot measure that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults at least 21 years old and allowed them to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana.
It failed to obtain the required 60% threshold at a time when the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is making moves to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Florida’s Republican-dominated government has a lengthy history of opposing marijuana legalization.
"While the results of Amendment 3 did not clear the 60 percent threshold, we are eager to work with the governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults, addressing public consumption, continuing our focus on child safety, and expanding access to safe marijuana through home grow," said a statement from Smart & Safe Florida, the political group leading the campaign in support of the measure.
The committee had raised an overall total of $152.27 million in cash and $959,000 in in-kind contributions since being created in 2022, according to the latest report on the state Division of Elections website.
The approval of the marijuana measure wouldn’t have immediately made marijuana legal in Florida. It would have allowed the Florida Legislature to create regulations or decide how to implement the amendment during the legislative session that begins in March.
Florida Republican officials were mixed on their support for this ballot measure.
Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislative leaders opposed the measure, with DeSantis saying it only benefits large marijuana corporations and would leave a marijuana stench in the air.
But former President Donald Trump signaled support in early September for the measure and a potential federal policy shift to reclassify marijuana. He said he’d vote in favor of the initiative, one of the few positions where he and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris agreed.
In a statement, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried lambasted DeSantis for using “the full force of the state to lie to voters about the effects of cannabis legalization.”
“The failure of Amendment 3 is a direct result of illegal campaign activity by Ron DeSantis and the Executive Office of the Governor,” said Fried. “Using millions of dollars of opioid settlement money and breaking multiple statutes along the way, Ron used the full force of the state to lie to voters about the effects of cannabis legalization — from enlisting state agencies to produce illegal anti-cannabis propaganda to putting his own Chief of Staff in charge of the campaign effort. “
“Floridians everywhere should be outraged at this stunning government overreach,” she said. “The so-called party of ‘small government’ has turned Florida into an authoritarian hellscape, and they used taxpayer dollars to do it.”
WLRN News Staff contributed to this report.
