(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . FL Attorney General claims recreational cannabis ballot proposal ‘misleads’ voters [1] ['Mitch Perry', 'More From Author', '- June'] Date: 2023-06-27 Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has responded to the Florida Supreme Court on why she opposes the proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot in Florida that would legalize the adult use of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and over. In a 49-page filing from Monday evening, Moody says that the initiative that has already qualified for Supreme Court review “misleads voters in several key respects” and details four places in the ballot summary where she says that the sponsors of the measure are misleading voters. 1 – She says the ballot summary tells the voter that the proposal would “allow” the recreational use of marijuana. But Moody says that if the measure passes, marijuana would remain illegal in Florida because of the federal Controlled Substances Act, “which makes marijuana a Schedule I substance generally prohibited nationwide.” 2- The ballot summary “misleadingly suggests” to voters that passage of the amendment allows “other state licensed entities” beyond Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) to enter the cannabis industry. She writes that greater competition would decrease retail prices and increase the professionalism of cannabis producers and retailers, but in fact “currently only MMTCs are licensed to engage in the marijuana trade in Florida, and the proposed amendment would not change that.” 3- Moody says the ballot summary is misleading because “reasonable voters would understand its discussion of ‘possession limits for personal use’ to say that the proposed amendment limits the scope of the immunity created by the amendment. She writes that in fact, the amendment goes beyond that, as it bans the possession of more than 3 ounces of marijuana. “Were voters warned that the amendment would restrict marijuana possession in this way—effectively banning most or all marijuana cultivation—they might reconsider their support for the initiative,” she writes. 4 – The AG writes that though the state’s Department of Health has the power to regulate the medical marijuana market under the proposed measure, “it will apparently lack the same authority over the recreational marijuana market.” She alleges that the proposed amendment would not extend the Department’s authority to recreational use. “Yet voters will infer from the proposed amendment would not extend the Department’s authority to recreational use,” she alleges. “In short, the Adult Personal Use of Marijuana amendment asks voters to make consequential changes to Florida’s Constitution yet is not honest with them about what those changes would be. The initiative should be stricken,” Moody writes. Court records show that the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Drug Free America Foundation have also filed briefs calling on the state Supreme Court to block the proposal from getting on the 2024 ballot. The Chamber alleges that the measure violates the “one subject” limitation imposed by the Florida Constitution. The Drug Free American Foundation alleges that the proposed amendment is “invalid” under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it conflicts with federal law. And it charges that the ballot summary “gives no notice to the voters of the broad grant of civil immunity to marijuana users.” The 2024 constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational cannabis is being led by the group Smart and Safe Florida. According to the Florida Division of Elections website, more than 910,000 signatures have been submitted to the supervisors of elections offices. Officially there needs to be 891,523 petitions verified by the Division of Elections with the ballot language approved by the Florida Supreme Court to qualify for the 2024 ballot. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also opposes the measure. He told a crowd in South Carolina last week that he’s against decriminalizing cannabis because “it’s very controversial because obviously there are some people who abuse it and are using it recreationally.” Smart and Safe released a statement later on Tuesday. “We believe the language as written clearly complies with the requirements of the constitution. We look forward to bringing this matter to the Florida Supreme Court and are confident that the court will conclude that there is no lawful basis to set aside the ballot initiative. This important issue should be entrusted to the citizens — over a million of whom already signed the Smart & Safe Florida petition saying they would support it — to decide for themselves through democratic choice.” [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2023/06/27/fl-attorney-general-claims-recreational-cannabis-ballot-proposal-misleads-voters/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/