Florida marijuana activists have officially turned their attention to putting adult-use legalization on the state’s 2024 ballot, rather than 2022 as previously planned. Regulate Florida faced several significant hurdles as they worked to qualify the reform initiative for this year’s ballot. That includes the state Supreme Court rejecting the language of an earlier version, forcing the campaign to go back and rewrite the petitions. While the group filed a revised version in September and hustled to collect the required signatures, it wasn’t enough. “When we began this attempt at legalization and home cultivation, we told you that time was short,” the campaign said in an email blast to supporters on Tuesday. “It appears that time has run out for this election cycle, but we have momentum and we have laid the groundwork for a successful campaign for 2024.” That campaign will start on February 2, Regulate Florida said. Activists will then have two years to first gather 222,898 valid signatures to prompt a judicial and fiscal impact review, and then they will need a total of 891,589 signatures to make the ballot. As filed this year, the measure would allow adults 21 and older to use and possess cannabis. They could also grow up to nine plants for personal use. The initiative would not provide for retail sales, however.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 01/11/2022 12:14:00