A University of North Florida poll released Thursday found 70% of respondents would back a constitutional amendment to legalize cannabis for adult use. The level of support is higher than the 64% recorded by the university’s Public Opinion Reseach Lab (PORL) in November 2019 but lower than the 76% of support PORL found in February 2022.
In a statement, Dr. Michael Binder, PORL faculty director and professor of political science, said the survey results show that if a cannabis legalization question is put to voters next year “it has a good chance of reaching the 60% supermajority needed to pass.” However, Binder said it is a “big if” whether the question makes it to ballots.
Activists in Florida, led by the Smart and Safe Florida campaign, are pushing to get the issue on 2024 ballots. In January, the committee had gathered more than 148,000 valid signatures to put the question before voters. The campaign would need to submit a total of 891,589 signatures to get the issue on 2024 ballots and would need to submit 222,898 signatures to trigger a Florida Supreme Court review of the proposal’s wording on the ballot.
The measure, “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” would allow individuals 21 and older “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise,” according to measure language submitted to the state Division of Elections.
The PORL poll found 76% of Democrats “strongly” or “somewhat” backed the reforms, along with 57% of Republicans, and 78% of voters with no party or third-party affiliation. Another 22% of Democrats “strongly” or “somewhat” opposed the reforms, along with 41% of Republicans, and 21% of voters with no party or third-party affiliation.
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