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FLORIDA - Marijuana advocates have begun mobilizing across the state to place recreational marijuana legalization back on Florida's 2026 ballot.
In the November 2024 election, nearly 56% of Florida voters supported Amendment 3, which sought to legalize recreational marijuana for adults aged 21 and over.
However, the measure fell short of the 60% supermajority required for constitutional amendments in the state.
Undeterred, proponents have initiated a campaign to reintroduce the measure in 2026.
To build early support, they are distributing petitions for signatures.
This proactive approach comes in response to increased investigations into alleged petition fraud by the Florida Department of State.
A recent "Election Crimes and Security" report from the Department concluded that "bad actors in the petition circulation industry have consistently resisted Florida's efforts to deter, detect, and punish fraud."
The report identified 35 individual paid circulators who allegedly committed fraud for the "Smart & Safe Florida" committee, which spearheaded the previous marijuana initiative.
Critics of the 2024 initiative accused major cannabis companies of attempting to establish a monopoly, as they currently control cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing of medical marijuana.
The 2026 proposal aims to diversify the industry by allowing these steps to be divided into separate licenses, enabling smaller businesses to enter the market.
The revised measure also seeks to address other concerns by explicitly prohibiting smoking and vaping in public, banning marketing and packaging attractive to children, and maintaining the prohibition on driving under the influence.
Notably, the new measure does not mention home cultivation of marijuana.
A recent poll targeting Republican primary voters revealed that 72% of conservative respondents support allowing citizen-led initiatives, like the cannabis measure, to be placed on ballots for voters to decide.