Florida election officials are finally allowing a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize adult-use marijuana to advance towards the November 2026 ballot.
But the state’s acknowledgment Monday that legalization campaign Smart & Safe Florida collected enough valid signatures came only after a lawsuit alleging the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis was trying to sabotage the process.
The state Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews on Monday issued a letter confirming that the Smart & Safe campaign submitted enough signatures to trigger attorney general and state Supreme Court review, according to the Florida Phoenix.
The action prompted Attorney General James Uthmeier to ask the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that the state has now complied with the group’s demands.
The current proposal will now be sent to the attorney general, who will forward it to the Supreme Court to review its language.
It’s the second lawsuit Smart & Safe has filed against the administration regarding the proposed 2026 ballot initiative.
The first suit, filed in circuit court in October, challenged an earlier order to discard nearly 200,000 signatures.
Smart & Safe will ultimately need 880,000 valid signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
When will Florida legalize adult-use marijuana?
Florida, the strongest medical-only marijuana market in the U.S. with $1.8 billion in annual sales, is considered the top prize for the nationwide cannabis industry.
Smart & Safe’s prior attempt to legalize recreational cannabis in 2024 narrowly failed.
More than 56% of voters cast ballots in support, but that fell short of the required 60% threshold needed to become part of the state Constitution.
Medical marijuana companies supported Smart & Safe Florida to the tune of $153 million in 2024, most of it from Trulieve Cannabis Corp., the state’s leading operator.
Trulieve is again spending heavily on Smart & Safe’s adult-use campaign, contributing $25.8 million so far.
The 2024 campaign faced strong opposition from Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials, some of whom stand accused of leveraging state resources to defeat marijuana at the ballot.
A grand jury is still reportedly investigating those allegations, according to the Phoenix.
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