7 Points Around Florida's Fight for Marijuana Legalization

1. What triggered Florida’s move toward a recreational marijuana ballot measure? 

Under legal pressure, Florida elections officials have formally advanced a proposed recreational marijuana amendment to the state’s Attorney General. This procedural step is critical because it triggers a required review by the Florida Supreme Court. The move acts as official confirmation that the campaign, "Smart & Safe Florida," has gathered the initial threshold of voter petitions needed to start the qualification process for the 2026 ballot.

2. What would this amendment actually legalize?

The proposed initiative seeks to legalize the "adult personal use of marijuana" for individuals aged 21 and older. If passed, it would allow adults to possess, purchase, and use marijuana for non-medical purposes. This follows a failed attempt in 2024, where a similar measure garnered 56% of the vote but fell short of the steep 60% supermajority required to amend the Florida Constitution.

3: Didn't Florida just vote on marijuana legalization in 2024?

Yes, and Governor DeSantis aggressively fought against it. In 2024, DeSantis used state money and his political influence to successfully campaign against ballot measures to legalize adult personal use of marijuana and expand abortion rights. The marijuana measure actually got 56% support, but Florida requires 60% approval for constitutional amendments, so it failed despite majority support.

4. How has Gov. DeSantis tried to block these initiatives? 

In May, DeSantis signed a law creating strict new barriers for citizen initiatives. Critics argue these changes make the process "prohibitively expensive" and nearly impossible for grassroots campaigns. The new rules include higher costs for signature gathering and stricter compliance checks. The impact is already being felt: a separate campaign to expand Medicaid recently announced it must delay its push until 2028 because of these new restrictions.

5. Why did activists have to sue Florida just to get marijuana legalization on the ballot?

The campaign behind the measure, Smart & Safe Florida, filed a complaint with the Florida Supreme Court alleging that officials in Governor Ron DeSantis' administration were improperly trying to block the initiative from reaching the 2026 ballot. Despite gathering the hundreds of thousands of voter signatures required by law, state officials weren't moving the process forward, prompting the legal action.

6. What changed after the lawsuit was filed?

Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd suddenly took the required procedural steps, issuing a formal letter to Smart & Safe Florida and submitting the proposed ballot amendment to the state's attorney general. In a November 17 legal filing, Byrd argued the lawsuit should now be dismissed as "moot" since the state had completed these actions. These steps officially confirm the campaign met the signature requirements and trigger the Florida Supreme Court's review of the amendment language.

7. What must happen before it gets on the 2026 ballot?

Two major hurdles remain. First, the Florida Supreme Court must review the proposed amendment's language to ensure it is clear and covers only a single subject. Second, the campaign must verify a total of nearly 900,000 valid signatures from registered voters across the state by the February 1, 2026 deadline. Only if both conditions are met will the question appear before voters.