Backlash in court over Florida’s marijuana legalization campaign as arrests continue
A Florida appeals court on Friday once again dealt with the campaign to legalize adult marijuana under increasing pressure from the November voting eligibility deadline.
The court setback for the Smart & Safe Florida campaign comes after state law enforcement arrested another paid campaign worker on allegations of voter fraud, part of a larger effort by Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to defeat the legalization of marijuana before voters have their say.
Smart & Safe has until February 1 to collect and deliver 880,000 valid signatures to registered state voters to qualify a constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for adults 21 and older for the November ballot.
Legalization of marijuana for adults would be a major boost to the marijuana industry in Florida, which is home to the state’s largest medical-only market. A similar effort failed miserably in 2024. Sixty percent support is required to pass a constitutional amendment in Florida.
Why a Florida judge ruled that marijuana legalization campaign signatures are invalid
Late last year, Secretary of State Cord Byrd ordered federal officials to invalidate more than 70,000 signatures submitted by Smart & Safe.
Smart & Safe sued to stop the disallowance, but after a lower court ruled partially in the campaign’s favor, the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals found Friday that Byrd’s orders to invalidate the signatures were legal.
Byrd ordered that some of the signatures be declared invalid as they were collected by out-of-state campaign workers — a new requirement imposed in 2025, following a narrow ratification defeat in 2024.
Others were rejected because they were from so-called “inactive voters,” who registered to vote but did not respond to an email from election officials to verify their addresses.
The campaign filed an emergency motion Sunday to have the appeals court hear the matter, according to the News Service of Florida.
Smart & Safe has submitted more than 760,000 valid signatures as of Monday, according to the state election website.
Arrests of cannabis campaign workers continue
It’s the second legal program to come out of Smart & Safe, which is primarily sponsored by Trulieve Cannabis Corp., a Tallahassee-based marijuana operator that is the state’s largest marijuana seller.
But state officials in the DeSantis administration have been fighting legalization almost every step of the way — fighting a “political war” against marijuana reform, according to a local elections official.
Meanwhile, at least nine workers who have been campaigning since last day have been arrested on suspicion of fraud.
On Friday, Attorney General James Uthmeier announced the arrest of a 41-year-old campaign worker for allegedly soliciting signatures — then using voters’ information to “falsify and file applications to register to vote without their consent.”
“There is absolutely no excuse for a major marijuana company and its affiliates to have stolen the Florida Constitution by forgery,” Uthmeier said in a statement Friday.
