Florida voters reject ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana

Florida voters rejected a bill that would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older and allowed them to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana.

It failed to reach the required 60% threshold at a time when the US Drug Enforcement Administration is taking steps to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Florida’s Republican-dominated government has a long history of opposing marijuana legalization.

“While the results of Amendment 3 did not pass the 60 percent threshold, we are committed to working with the Governor and legislative leaders who agree with us to decriminalize recreational marijuana for adults, address public consumption, continue our focus on child safety, and expand access to safe marijuana through home cultivation,” said

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the majority of Florida voters who voted for Amendment 3 and to everyone who supported us in this effort. We remain committed to a smarter, safer Florida and will continue to work toward solutions that benefit all Floridians,” Smart & Safe Florida, the policy group leading the campaign in support of the measure, said in a statement.

Since its creation in 2022, the committee has raised a total of $152.27 million in cash and $959,000 in in-kind donations, according to the latest report posted on the state Division of Elections website.

Approval of the marijuana measure would not immediately make marijuana legal in Florida. That would allow the Florida Legislature to create rules or decide how to implement the amendment during the legislative session that begins in March.

Florida Republican officials have mixed support for the ballot measure. Gov. Ron DeSantis and Republican legislative leaders opposed the measure, with DeSantis saying it would only benefit large marijuana corporations and would leave the stench of marijuana in the air.

But in early September, former President Donald Trump signaled his support for the measure and a potential change in federal policy to reclassify marijuana. He said he would vote for the initiative, one of the few positions on which he and Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris agreed.

The 2014 medical marijuana ballot initiative failed to pass the required 60% threshold. In 2016, then-Gov. Rick Scott approved legislation allowing medical marijuana use for patients with terminal illnesses, and that same year, Florida voters approved a referendum that expanded access to marijuana for people with conditions such as HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease or Crohn’s disease.