It seems Florida has missed the window on legalizing recreational marijuana for the time being.
In 2024, the state voted on legalization, but had to cross a higher hurdle of 60% of the vote. It only made it to 56%, so it was rejected. This year, an initiative to get legalization back on the ballot didn’t get the signatures in time, so the issue sitting out this election.
But with DeSantis ending his final term, the next Governor could have a lot of sway over marijuana in the coming years, and unfortunately for us, most of the potential successors aren’t too enthused.
All, except for one. Former US Representative David Jolly says he would support what the majority of the state wants, so he believes the state should legalize the plant.
He told the Florida Phoenix, “Recreational marijuana got more than 50% of the vote in the constitutional amendment process and I pledged to support the enactment and introduce legislatively any amendment that got more than 50% of the vote. That includes open primaries, recreational marijuana, and Amendment 4 on reproductive freedom.”
The issue here is that Jolly is a Democrat, and Florida has veered more and more red over the past decade. So his shots of securing the governorship are pretty bleak.
The other Democrat in the race didn’t respond to their requests for comment, so at the very least we can say he isn’t too excited about legalization.
All of the Republicans running are against legalization. Perhaps the 30’s will be a better outlook for the state, but as of now, this decade is pretty much sealed up.
Read the original article at Florida Phoenix.
