A new survey reveals that Florida’s initiative to legalize marijuana, set to be on the ballot in November, has enough support to potentially pass, boasting majority approval across various demographic groups.
The poll, conducted by the University of North Florida (UNF), indicates that 64% of likely voters favor the marijuana reform proposal. This percentage exceeds the 60% threshold needed to amend the state constitution. The survey respondents were provided with the complete text of Amendment 3 as it will appear on the ballot.
The data shows that Democrats are the most supportive group, with 79% backing the initiative, independents at 63% with GOP supporters at 50%. Additionally, the poll reveals widespread support across different age and racial groups, as well as among both those who voted for President Joe Biden (78%) and Donald Trump (50%) in the 2020 election.
Polls on the Florida initiative have consistently shown that most people support it, even though not all of them have shown the necessary 60% of votes to pass. The most recent survey results, which were released less than four months before election day, give supporters of the proposal hope.
However, the current 64% support is three points lower than the figures reported by UNF in a previous poll. Michael Binder, a political science professor at UNF, noted that the effectiveness of the opposition’s efforts to reduce support remains uncertain.
The poll surveyed 774 voters in Florida between July 24–27, with a margin of error of ±4.6 percentage points. Another opposition group, Vote No On 3, recently conducted its poll, which also found 64% support for the reform.
Governor Ron DeSantis attacked Amendment 3 earlier this month, making inflated assertions about its possible implications, which Amendment 3’s proponents have refuted. He contended that the amendment would grant an unrestricted right to marijuana usage, implying that it would provide more protection than the First and Second Amendments’ guarantees of free speech and the right to bear arms. Furthermore, he falsely claimed that the majority of Colorado voters regretted legalizing marijuana, even though current polls show that the state’s citizens remain strongly in favor of the change.
POB Ventures, a consortium of cannabis companies, donated $100,000 to DeSantis’s political action committee, the Florida Freedom Fund, to aid in opposition to bills on abortion and marijuana. This donation significantly boosted the campaign’s funds, which had been modest at the start of July.
Patrick O’Brien, POB Ventures CEO, noted that he isn’t opposed to the legalization of cannabis for adult use in general. He did, however, voice concerns with the referendum initiative’s exact wording, which permits regulators to issue more licenses rather than requiring them to.
Questions about the motives behind the donation to DeSantis’s PAC are likely to persist, especially following a CBS News Miami report suggesting that unnamed hemp entities have pledged to support DeSantis’s fight against the cannabis legalization measure, promising a collective $5 million contribution to the state GOP party. This pledge comes after the governor vetoed a bill that could have drastically impacted the hemp market by banning most cannabinoid products.
Despite recent donations, the DeSantis campaign is still far behind the prolegalization campaign, Smart and Safe Florida, in terms of fundraising, with the latter having raised more than $60 million since 2022.
Meanwhile, a Fox News survey conducted last month found that two-thirds of Floridians are in favor of the marijuana proposal, with the measure receiving greater support than the governor. Across the political spectrum, the majority of respondents to the survey supported legalization.
The entire marijuana industry, including entities such as Green Thumb Industries Inc. (CSE: GTII) (OTCQX: GTBIF), will be waiting with bated breath to see whether voters make Florida the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana in the country this November.
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