Florida’s long-running debate over recreational marijuana is back in play, with a proposed constitutional amendment now headed to the Florida Supreme Court for mandatory review — a key step toward a potential return to the statewide ballot in 2026.
Attorney General James Uthmeier has formally submitted the amendment to the high court, triggering a legal review of the proposed ballot initiative. The court will examine whether the measure complies with constitutional requirements, including whether it is limited to a single subject and whether its ballot language is clear and unambiguous.
The proposal is being sponsored by Smart & Safe Florida, which is seeking to legalize recreational marijuana for adults. The committee has already surpassed the 220,016 verified signatures required to initiate Supreme Court review. To qualify for the November 2026 ballot, however, it must collect 880,062 valid signatures by Feb. 1.
According to the state Division of Elections, the initiative had secured 675,307 valid signatures as of Sunday. Smart & Safe Florida maintains that the public tally does not reflect the full scope of its petition effort, saying it submitted more than 1 million signatures statewide. Roughly 200,000 petitions were invalidated by elections officials, a decision that was later upheld by a Leon County circuit judge after the committee challenged the ruling.
The dispute over signatures stems from an October directive issued by Florida Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews, who ordered county supervisors to discard petitions that did not include the full text of the proposed constitutional amendment. State officials argued that mailed petitions were “not obtained legally” because Smart & Safe Florida altered the petition format after it had been approved by the secretary of state’s office.
In his filing to the Supreme Court, Uthmeier noted that the signature count remains in flux as supervisors of elections continue correcting records related to verified and invalidated petitions.
The renewed push follows the failure of a similar measure, Amendment 3, which fell short in the 2024 election. That effort faced strong opposition from Gov. Ron DeSantis, who argued the proposal would create a marijuana “monopoly” dominated by large operators. They also raised concerns about impaired driving and potential risks to teens and children. Smart & Safe Florida is largely funded by medical marijuana company Trulieve.
Since then, the political landscape has continued to evolve. President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order directing federal agencies to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug.
Whether voters ultimately get another say on recreational marijuana will now depend on two hurdles: approval from the Florida Supreme Court and the verification of enough valid signatures to place the amendment on the 2026 ballot.
