Medical Marijuana Amendment Clears Florida Supreme Court

Florida voters may get a second chance to approve a constitutional amendment that would legalize the use of medical marijuana in the state.

The Florida Supreme Court gave its approval Thursday to the amendment, but that greenlight doesn’t assure the proposal will make the November 2016 ballot. United for Care, the advocacy group behind the measure, still needs to clear a few more hurdles before the amendment can be put before voters. The group needs at least 274,000 more signed petitions from Florida voters and it must also meet a minimum requirement of support in another 11 of the state’s 27 congressional districts.

United for Care’s campaign manager, Ben Pollara, acknowledged the shortfalls in a post on the group’s website Thursday.

“We have over 400,000 validated and only weeks left to collect and send in the remainder,” Pollara wrote, urging supporters to contribute to the cause. He’s also asking supporters who haven’t signed petitions to print them out and do so.

A similar proposal, Amendment 2, was placed on the November 2014 ballot, but was narrowly defeated by Florida voters. State law calls for approval by 60 percent of registered voters for an amendment to pass. Amendment 2 received 57.6 percent of the vote.

See Also:

• Medical Marijuana Supporters Move to Get Issue on Ballot
• New Medical Marijuana Petition Drive Begins in Florida
• Medical Marijuana Vote Fails in Florida
• John Morgan Not Giving Up on Medical Marijuana: Are You?

This time around supporters say they’ve closed “loopholes” in their proposal that raised concerns in the 2014 election, New Times reported. The new petition, for example, requires parental consent for minors and calls for legalized use only by people who have debilitating medical conditions, among other tweaks.

The newest petition drive kicked off in January with heavy support from Orlando and Tampa Bay area lawyer John Morgan. Morgan reportedly spent millions during the first election go-around and has pledged his support – and wallet – to the effort once again.

To sign the 2016 petition, visit United for Care online.

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