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    • Florida Amendment 3, recreational marijuana ballot measure, fails
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    Florida Amendment 3, recreational marijuana ballot measure, fails

    Umito Posted on

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    A proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed recreational marijuana was removed on election night.

    Following the costliest ballot measure battle In the country, Amendment 3 failed with only 55.9% approval, about 4 points short of the 60% needed for adoption, according to Data from Associated Press.

    Smart & Safe Florida, the group that championed the amendment, conceded defeat a statement from Tuesday evening.

    “Although the results of Amendment 3 did not cross the 60% threshold, we look forward to working with the Governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults , on public consumption, on continuing our focus on child safety and on expanding access to safe marijuana through home cultivation,” he said.

    Amendment 3 would have allowed 21-year-olds to possess up to three ounces of marijuana or five grams in concentrated form.

    His failure was one of the most shocking moments of the 2024 general elections in the state. While the the polls were closemost surveys found enough Floridians supportive of its adoption.

    And a mountain of money was at stake – both in tax dollars and in business revenue.

    Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, spent a fortune on Amendment 3. It donated the vast majority of the more than $150 million it received. by Smart & Safe Floridathe group leading this campaign for legalization.

    This ignited the anger of Governor Ron DeSantiswho accused Trulieve of trying to create a “cartel” in the state Constitution.

    The company repeatedly refuted that and a host of others criticism launched against it and the measure relating to recreational marijuana.

    While Trulieve was expected to have the largest share of the recreational market, there are 24 other medical marijuana companies in Florida. And the DeSantis administration relies on licenses that would yield 22 more.

    Other major marijuana companies, like Curaleafsaid they had spent tens of millions of dollars preparing for approval.

    The amendment would have allowed current medical marijuana suppliers to sell recreational products, although its language explicitly allows the legislature to grant licenses to other entities as well.

    It doesn’t matter now.

    “Even after spending more than $150 million – the largest drug legalization effort in American history – Florida residents saw through Amendment 3’s web of deception and defeated this corporate takeover “, wrote Vote No on 3, the campaign against the amendment, on social networks Tuesday evening.

    Trulieve’s contributions were not enough to overcome the DeSantis administration’s all-out assault on the amendment leading up to the election, controversially. use state resources in the process.

    Despite former President Donald Trump’s support for the measure, the state spent several million dollars about the publicity that seemed to be directed against her. This was mixed in with numerous anti-recreational marijuana press conferences the governor has held across the state.

    He and other opponents have widely criticized the amendment. dubious claimsnotably that the state legislature would be unable to regulate recreational marijuana.

    These claims worked and they will remain untested.

    “Proud to have led this fight, we left it all on the ground,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in a statement from Tuesday evening. “I look forward to working with the Legislature on next steps to ensure safe access to marijuana for adults in Florida, decriminalization of personal possession and home cultivation.”

    While most states with a constitutional amendment system only require approval by a simple majority, Florida voters approved an amendment in 2006, which raised the approval threshold from 50% to 60%. This is a difficult threshold to reach: this 2006 measurement itself exceeded it by 58%.

    (The topic and headlines of this story have been updated for clarity).

    This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Douglas Soule, a reporter for the USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment, is based in Tallahassee, Florida. [email protected]. On X: @DouglasSoule.

    Umito
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