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Recreational marijuana may be on Florida’s ballot
Governor Ron DeSantis says recreational marijuana will likely be on Florida's ballot if the court approves it. Jordan Bowen reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - The push to legalize recreational marijuana in Florida for people 21 and over is inching closer to making it on the November ballot, according to Governor Ron DeSantis.
When asked about it Friday in New Hampshire, DeSantis said, "I think the court is going to approve that, so it'll be on the ballot."
Currently, the language in the ballot initiative is waiting for approval from the Florida Supreme Court before it can be added to the ballot.
"I was glad the governor came out and made the statement that he did," Smart & Safe Florida Chairperson David Bellamy said.
Cannabis plant grows in the Amsterdam Cannabis College on February 7, 2007 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Bellamy, of the country music duo the Bellamy Brothers, who are from Dade City, has been working with Smart & Safe Florida to get the legislation on the ballot.
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"We’ve used cannabis almost all our life, and now that we’re considered senior citizens, I think it’s probably more useful now than ever," Bellamy said.
According to a December poll from the University of North Florida, 67% of those surveyed said they would vote for a state constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana – 28% said they won’t vote against it.
"We don’t need another drug of abuse in our state," Ellen Snelling with the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance said.
Man smokes marijuana.
Snelling worries legalizing recreational marijuana would put certain young people at risk.
"If a person, either a teenager or a young college student starts using, they could experience mental illness and possibly psychosis. And, the more marijuana is available and accessible – maybe there's billboards around signage, there's dispensaries everywhere – it's more likely that our young people would start using," Snelling said.
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According to the Florida Division of Election Smart & Safe Florida has submitted more than one million valid signatures surpassing the 891,000 signature threshold required to get it on the ballot.
"We remain hopeful the court will allow voters to have a chance to vote to allow adults the freedom to use safe cannabis for their own personal consumption," a spokesperson for Smart & Safe Florida wrote in a statement sent to FOX 13 late Tuesday.
The Florida Supreme Court has until April 1 to make its decision.