Florida Moves to Put Recreational Marijuana on 2026 Ballot After Petition Milestone

Florida advances proposed recreational marijuana amendment toward 2026 ballot

Florida elections officials have begun the formal procedural steps that could place a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana on the 2026 ballot, court filings show.

The action follows a complaint from the campaign behind the measure, Smart & Safe Florida, which told the Florida Supreme Court that officials in Governor Ron DeSantis' administration attempted to improperly block the proposal.

In a Nov. 17 filing, Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit as moot after state officials sent a formal letter to Smart & Safe Florida and forwarded the proposed amendment to the state attorney general. Those steps confirm that the campaign has submitted the hundreds of thousands of voter petitions required to trigger a statutory review of the amendment's language by the Florida Supreme Court.

What happens next

Under state law, once petition totals are certified and the amendment is forwarded to the attorney general, the Supreme Court must review the proposed ballot language to determine if it meets constitutional and statutory requirements before the measure can appear on the ballot.

Political context

The dispute is the latest episode in a yearslong clash between progressive organizers who use citizen-led ballot initiatives to change state policy and a conservative governor who opposed similar measures in 2024. In that election cycle, Governor DeSantis deployed state resources and political influence to campaign against efforts to legalize adult personal use of marijuana and to expand abortion rights.

In May, the governor signed a law establishing new requirements for citizen-driven ballot initiatives. Critics say the changes will raise costs and make it far more difficult for grassroots campaigns to qualify for the ballot. Since that law took effect, a separate campaign to expand Medicaid in Florida announced it will delay its push to 2028.

By Kate Payne