Florida's Amendment 3, the recreational marijuana ballot measure, fails

A proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed recreational marijuana was killed on election night.

Next the most expensive battle for ballots in the country, Amendment 3 fell short with only 55.9% approval, about 4 points short of the 60% needed for passage, according to Associated Press data.

Smart & Safe Florida, the group pushing for the amendment, acknowledged defeat a statement on Tuesday evening.

“While the results of Amendment 3 did not meet the 60% threshold, we are committed to working with the Governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing adult recreational marijuana, addressing public consumption, continuing of our focus on child safety and expanding access to safe marijuana through home cultivation,” the report said.

Amendment 3 would allow 21-year-olds to possess up to three ounces of marijuana or five grams in concentrated form.

Its failure was one of the most shocking moments of the 2024 general election. While the the mood was tightmost surveys found enough supportive Floridians to pass.

And a mountain of money was at stake – both in tax money and in business income.

Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, spent a fortune on Amendment 3. It donated the vast majority of the more than $150 million it received. from Smart & Safe Floridathe group running this pro-legalization campaign.

That stirred up the anger from Governor Ron DeSantiswho accused Trulieve of trying to create a “cartel” in the state constitution.

The company has repeatedly refuted that and a whole bunch of others criticism of it and the recreational marijuana measure.

While Trulieve was expected to have the largest share of the recreational market, there are 24 other medical marijuana companies in Florida. And the DeSantis administration is sitting on licensing would yield 22 more.

Other major marijuana companies, like Curaleafreported spending tens of millions of dollars in preparation for approval.

The amendment would have allowed current medical marijuana providers to sell recreational products, although the wording also explicitly authorized the Legislature to issue licenses to other entities.

Not that it matters now.

“Even after spending more than $150 million — the most in any drug legalization effort in American history — Floridians saw through Amendment 3’s web of deception and defeated this corporate power grab,” wrote Vote No. 3, the campaign against the amendment. on social media Tuesday evening.

Trulieve’s contributions were controversially not enough to overcome the DeSantis administration’s all-out attack on the amendment in the run-up to the election. use state resources in the process.

Even though former President Donald Trump supported the measure, the state spent money many millions of dollars to advertising that seemed to be aimed against it. That was accompanied by numerous anti-recreational marijuana news conferences the governor held across the state.

He and other opponents hit the amendment in a big way of questionable claimsincluding that the state legislature would be unable to regulate recreational marijuana.

Those claims worked, and they will remain untested.

“Proud that we fought the battle – we left everything on the field,” said Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve a statement on Tuesday evening. “I look forward to working with the Legislature on the next steps to ensure safe access to marijuana for adults in Florida, and to decriminalize personal possession and home cultivation.”

While most states with a constitutional amendment system require only simple majority approval, Florida voters do an amendment approved in 2006, the approval threshold was increased from 50% to 60%. That is a difficult threshold to reach: the 2006 measure was exceeded by 58%.

(The lead and headlines of this story have been updated for clarity).

This reporting content is supported through a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Douglas Soule is based in Tallahassee, Florida. He can be reached at [email protected]. On X: @DouglasSoule.