Florida marijuana legalization effort stinks, state AG tells high court

A marijuana multistate operator-backed push to legalize adult-use hashish in Florida is trying to mislead voters round – amongst different issues – hashish’ scent, the state legal professional common claimed.

Lawyer Basic James Uthmeier’s accusation, made in a state Supreme Courtroom submitting and supported by key enterprise teams, together with the state Chamber of Commerce, is the most recent in an extended string of efforts to thwart legalizing adult-use hashish within the nation’s largest medical-only market.

And it comes amid an ongoing problem to signatures already collected by legalization marketing campaign Sensible & Secure Florida, which is primarily bankrolled by Tallahassee-based MSO Trulieve Hashish Corp.

Florida adult-use marijuana legalization marketing campaign misleads round hashish scent, AG claims

With greater than $1.8 billion in medical hashish gross sales, Florida is poised to change into one of many largest adult-use markets within the nation after legalization.

Regardless of help from President Donald Trump, the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis appears decided to cease it.

In keeping with The Tampa Bay Instances, Uthmeier – a former chief of workers to DeSantis, who opposed the 2024 legalization effort – known as the Sensible & Secure marketing campaign “fatally flawed” and unconstitutional in addition to deceptive.

Along with claims that the modification violates state regulation limiting constitutional amendments’ scope, Uthmeier paid specific consideration to hashish’ scent – and claimed that whereas the Sensible & Secure modification prohibits hashish use “in public,” there’s no assure that Floridians wouldn’t scent marijuana.

“The poll abstract would lead voters to consider that voting sure would guarantee there is no such thing as a marijuana — or its scent — ‘in public,’ whereas the precise modification delivers no such factor,” the legal professional common mentioned in filings, in keeping with the Instances.

“The ‘in public’ abstract language would likewise deceive Florida mother and father into considering this initiative will prohibit marijuana smoking close to their kids in lodges, eating places, sports activities venues, and different areas open to most people. The initiative gives no such safety.”

Sensible & Secure’s response is due in courtroom on Jan. 12.

Will Florida legalize adult-use marijuana in 2026?

In a press release to the Instances, the marketing campaign identified {that a} related effort from DeSantis’ administration to defeat the 2024 marketing campaign on the state Supreme Courtroom failed.

“5.9 million voters permitted of the measure in 2024, and over one million Florida voters have signed petitions to place the present language on the poll, we hope their voices received’t be ignored,” the assertion learn.

To move a constitutional modification in Florida, a 60% approval is required. Trulieve-backed Modification 2 failed in November 2024 regardless of greater than $150 million in marketing campaign spending and an endorsement from Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee.

Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers is credited with convincing Trump to subject the historic Dec. 18 government order downgrading hashish to a Schedule 3 drug.

Nevertheless, there are extra issues this time round on the state stage in Florida.

In a separate courtroom case, Sensible & Secure is combating state elections officers over their choice to invalidate tens of 1000’s of signatures.

Sensible & Secure should submit a minimum of 880,062 legitimate signatures by Feb. 1.

The marketing campaign has submitted simply over 675,000 legitimate signatures thus far, in keeping with the state elections web site. Trulieve has contributed a minimum of $25 million to the marketing campaign thus far, in keeping with marketing campaign finance data.