Tag: marijuana legalization

Florida Marijuana Campaign Sues State Over Invalidation Of 71,000 Signatures With Turn-In Deadline Weeks Away

A Florida campaign seeking to put marijuana legalization on the state’s 2026 ballot has filed a new lawsuit against state officials, alleging that they improperly directed the invalidation of about 71,000 signatures as a turn-in deadline quickly approaches.

Smart & Safe Florida has been fighting several legal battles this cycle to ensure that its initiative is able to qualify for ballot placement.

The latest lawsuit, filed in the Leon County circuit court on Monday, claims Secretary of State Cord Byrd (R) directed county election officials to invalidate about 42,000 signatures from so-called “inactive” voters and roughly 29,000 signatures collected by out-of-state petitioners.

This comes after another court upheld a previous decision to strike about 200,000 signatures that the state said were invalid because the petitions didn’t include the full text of the proposed initiative. The campaign contested the legal interpretation, but it declined to appeal the decision based on their confidence they’d collected enough signatures to make up the difference.

Now, with a February 1 deadline to submit 880,062 valid signatures just about a month away, Smart & Safe Florida is signaling that the additional invalidations could jeopardize their chances of making the ballot. Currently, the state has validated 675,307 signatures.

“Time is of the essence,” the new lawsuit says, according to The News Service of Florida. “The Florida secretary of state has issued two unlawful directives that, unless stopped, will invalidate the citizen initiative petitions signed by more than 70,000 registered voters.”

With respect to the “inactive” voters, the term refers to those who are registered but for whom mail is marked as undeliverable, resulting in their addresses being considered unconfirmed. This group can become unregistered if they don’t vote in two consecutive general elections.

“The absurd result of the secretary’s directive is that ‘inactive’ voters can vote for the proposed amendment but cannot have their petitions counted to place the proposed amendment on the ballot to vote for it,” the lawsuit says.

The out-of-state petitioner issue, meanwhile, is about the enforcement of a law passed earlier this year barring non-Florida residents from collecting signatures. Amid legal challenges, a federal court issued an injunction blocking its enforcement for about two months before that injunction was stayed by another judge.

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Trump Administration Sees Marijuana As A ‘Hazard,’ Federal Prosecutor Says, Drawing Criticism From Lawmakers And Advocates

Lawmakers and advocates are pushing back after a U.S. attorney announced his office will be aggressively prosecuting cannabis possession and use offenses on federal lands, stating that it’s the administration’s position that “marijuana use is a public safety hazard.”

U.S. Attorney for the District of Wyoming Darin Smith caught some by surprise on Thursday after his office said it would be “rigorously” prosecuting cannabis cases, while citing a recent reversal of previously unpublicized Biden-era marijuana enforcement guidance that deprioritized such action.

“Marijuana possession remains a federal crime in the United States, irrespective of varying state laws,” Smith said. “The detrimental effects of drugs on our society are undeniable, and I am committed to using every prosecutorial tool available to hold offenders accountable.”

He doubled down on that position in comments to WyoFile, telling the local outlet: “This administration thinks that marijuana use is a public safety hazard and this office is going to uphold the law and ensure safety and security of the public within our jurisdiction.”

Marijuana Moment reached out to the White House for clarification on President Donald Trump’s position on cannabis, but a representative did not provide comment by the time of publication.

While questions remain as to the specifics of both the Biden- and Trump-related marijuana prosecutorial guidance actions, the federal attorney’s message has added to the uncertainty around how the current administration views its enforcement role as federal and state cannabis laws continue to conflict.

U.S. Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, told Marijuana Moment that simple cannabis possession “is not a threat to public safety, and it is ridiculous to justify the prosecution of individuals with an outdated law that does not reflect the current use of cannabis in the United States”

“The federal government needs to catch up to the states, recognize the legitimate industry that has emerged, dismantle the stigma surrounding the plant, and reform its outdated scheduling of marijuana as a dangerous drug,” she said.

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Grand Jury reportedly meeting this week in Hope Florida investigation

Florida’s Hope Florida program, once celebrated by the governor and First Lady as a compassionate outreach effort, is now under a grand jury’s microscope. Prosecutors in the capital are reportedly meeting this week to decide whether criminal charges are warranted in a growing scandal that’s shaken the state’s political establishment.

The proceedings are happening behind closed doors inside Leon County’s 2nd Judicial Circuit courthouse, where prosecutors are taking evidence in the Hope Florida investigation.

At issue: whether anyone broke the law after $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement moved through the Hope Florida Foundation to other nonprofits, and then to a political committee once controlled by now–Attorney General James Uthmeier. That committee later helped defeat a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana.

State Attorney Jack Campbell, who is overseeing the process, declined to provide details.

“No, there’s no comment on that at all. Everything that the grand jury does is, in fact, confidential,” Campbell said when asked about the case last week.

Legal experts say the secrecy is standard procedure. Mario Gallucci of the Gallucci Law Firm is a former New York assistant district attorney and was a principal attorney in its major felony unit. He said these proceedings can take weeks to complete.

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DeSantis Admits Marijuana Legalization Is Popular With Florida Voters Even Though He Opposes It

The Republican governor of Florida is conceding that “more people probably agreed” with a marijuana legalization ballot initiative he helped defeat last year than sided with his prohibitionist viewpoint—but he argued that it was the “morally right” choice for him to intervene to prevent the sale of “dangerous stuff” in his state.

At an event hosted by the Pennsylvania Family Institute on Saturday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) talked about his administration’s uphill work to dissuade voters from approving both the cannabis measure as well as a separate reproductive rights initiative during the November 2024. While both initiatives received majority support from voters, they failed to meet the state’s high 60 percent threshold required to enact constitutional amendments.

In the speech, DeSantis claimed that the marijuana proposal, Amendment 3, wouldn’t just have legalized cannabis but also made it a “constitutional right to possess and smoke it, including in public,” while giving one company in particular “a lot of benefits,” seemingly referring to the Smart and Safe Florida campaign’s largest financier Trulieve.

“Somehow you got people that are going to spend a lot of money to basically make us California through the back door with these initiatives and these amendments,” DeSantis said. “The marijuana people spent $150 million on this. The abortion people spent $130 million. So we had to contend with $280 million of spending on very misleading language—and, let’s just be honest, they were pushing issues in which probably more people agreed with them than agreed with me or agreed with us.”

“Marijuana was somewhat popular,” the governor said in comments first reported by Florida Politics. “I didn’t do it to be popular. I did it because it was the right thing to do. So we were having to deal with navigating all this.”

Despite raising money to finance ads opposing the cannabis measure, DeSantis said governors don’t officially “have a role in these amendments.” He faulted “special interest” parties and the state Supreme Court approval of the initiative language that he described as a “mistake.”

“I mean, most people that get elected in my positions like mine, all their advisors say, ‘stay away from this. There’s nothing for you to gain by getting involved in this. All you’re going to do is alienate supporters,’” he said. “And that may be true, but that also wouldn’t be the right thing to do. It wouldn’t be the morally right thing to do. So I was in a position. I had this platform as governor. I had a megaphone. There were things being proposed that would be harmful for my state.”

“In terms of the marijuana, I mean, you can’t function as a state if you smell marijuana everywhere—if these kids are doing it,” DeSantis said. “And this isn’t the marijuana they had in Woodstock. This is really, really dangerous stuff, so it would have been terrible for Florida.”

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Former Trump Cabinet Member Says Marijuana Rescheduling Would Help To ‘Destroy This Country’

Ben Carson, President Donald Trump’s former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), says a move to reschedule marijuana that the administration is actively considering would play into plots to “destroy this country.”

In an interview with Fox Business on Monday, Carson reiterated his opposition to cannabis reform as Trump weighs a proposal to transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

Asked why he feels his “caution” against rescheduling could lead the administration to reject the reform, Carson said that “with a lot of things, it’s just a matter of common sense.”

“It’s a matter of putting the facts on the table and then making policy decisions based on what those facts are,” he said, pointing to a study he claims found a “dramatic increase in crime” in neighborhoods with cannabis dispensaries.

“It doesn’t take a great deal of intellect to recognize that when you put these substances into communities and you make them easy to obtain, you get a much worse result,” Carson said. “Also, people say, ‘Well, you know, when I was young, I smoked marijuana. It didn’t cause me to have a lot of problems.’ Recognize that the marijuana of the 60s and 70s was much less potent than the marijuana today.”

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Democratic Lawmakers File Bill To Federally Legalize Marijuana As Trump Weighs Rescheduling

As the Trump administration considers rescheduling marijuana, Congressional Democrats have filed a bill to federally legalize cannabis by descheduling it altogether.

In addition to removing the drug from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the new legislation also contains a variety of provisions meant to promote equity and address the collateral consequences of prohibition.

On Friday, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), reintroduced the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, alongside three dozen cosponsors.

This is the fourth session in a row that Nadler has put forward the proposal. It passed the House twice under Democratic control while the sponsor served as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, but it did not advance last session with Republicans in the majority.

“As more states continue to legalize marijuana and public support increases, federal laws must catch up and reverse failed policies criminalizing marijuana,” Nadler said in a press release. “It is long past time to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, expunge marijuana convictions, and facilitate resentencing, while reinvesting in the communities most adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.”

Despite uncertainty about its prospects of advancing this Congress—especially at a time when President Donald Trump is actively considering a more modest proposal to simply reschedule cannabis—advocates are again touting the MORE Act as an example of the type of wide-ranging cannabis reform legislation would take necessary steps to right the wrongs of prohibition and promote social equity.

The latest version of the legislation is largely consistent with past iterations, with certain technical changes including updated data in its findings section, for example.

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Czech Republic Bill To Legalize Marijuana Home Cultivation And Allow Psilocybin For Medical Use Heads To President’s Desk

Lawmakers in the Czech Republic have passed a bill to reform the nation’s drug laws by legalizing simple possession and home cultivation of marijuana and allowing the use of psilocybin for medical purposes.

One month after the Chamber of Deputies approved the legislation, the Senate gave it final approval on Thursday. It now heads to the desk of President Petr Pavel to be signed into law.

The drug policy reforms are part of a package of amendments to the Czechia’s criminal code that supporters say will reduce spending on low-priority offenses, lower the number of people behind bars and reduce recidivism.

“The amendment will help criminal law better distinguish between truly socially harmful behavior and cases that do not belong in criminal proceedings at all,” outgoing Justice Minister Pavel Blažek said last month, according to a translated report from broadcaster Česká Televize (CT).

With respect to cannabis, the proposal would legalize possession of up to 100 grams of marijuana at home or 25 grams in public. Cultivation of up to three plants would also be allowed, though four or five plants would be a misdemeanor and more than that would be a felony. Possession of more than 200 grams would also carry criminal penalties.

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Attorney Says Just One Signature Could Federally Reschedule Cannabis

In a newly published legal analysis, Denver-based attorney and international drug policy expert Jason Adelstone outlines a compelling case that the U.S. Attorney General has the authority to unilaterally reschedule marijuana—without needing approval from Congress or input from health agencies.

Adelstone points to a rarely discussed provision of federal law, 21 U.S.C. § 811(d)(1), that grants the Attorney General the authority to reschedule substances in order to comply with international treaty obligations. Unlike the more commonly cited rescheduling process involving the Department of Health and Human Services, this statute allows for swift, unilateral executive action.

“All it would take is a press release and a pen,” Adelstone writes, noting that current Attorney General Pam Bondi could shift marijuana from Schedule I to a lower schedule—such as Schedule III—immediately, citing treaty compliance with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. That move would eliminate the burdensome IRS tax code provision 280E, which prevents legal marijuana businesses from deducting ordinary expenses.

While litigation would likely follow, Adelstone argues the statutory authority is clear and would remain in effect during court proceedings. He also warns that the same provision could be used in reverse—a future Attorney General could place marijuana back into Schedule I without Congressional input, highlighting the instability of relying solely on executive action.

“The real solution lies with Congress,” Adelstone concludes. “Only a legislative fix can provide durable protection from policy reversals and regulatory uncertainty.”

Adelstone also criticizes the marijuana industry’s lobbying efforts, calling them largely ineffective despite millions spent. He suggests a more politically strategic approach is necessary—one that acknowledges how Washington works and adjusts accordingly.

A longtime advisor on cannabis law and international policy, Adelstone has worked with U.S. and global stakeholders on regulatory issues surrounding marijuana reform. His latest analysis throws new weight behind the argument that one signature could ignite sweeping change—but that only Congress can make it last.

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Marijuana Opponents ‘Have Lost’ The Debate, GOP Senator Says, Arguing ‘It’s Time’ To Regulate It Like Alcohol And Tobacco

A GOP senator says opponents of marijuana legalization “have lost” the fight to maintain prohibition and that “it’s time” for lawmakers to address that reality by creating a regulatory framework treating cannabis “in the same way that we do with alcohol and tobacco,” so that states can set their own policies without federal intervention.

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday that featured witnesses from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) pressed the DEA representative on cannabis policy issues.

“I have tried to keep pounding the table and saying, ‘Folks, those of us who were not necessarily eager to legalize pot have lost,’” the senator said. “The majority of states have legalized it at some level or another. I don’t really have a whole lot of emotions about it personally, but for the fact that I don’t think we’re regulating it properly, and I do believe it’s just become another distribution channel for the cartels.”

Tillis seemed to be arguing that the absence of federal regulations, and the policy disconnect with states that have increasingly enacted legalization, has created a vacuum that’s allowed illicit operators to thrive.

“We’ve got to get this under control. We have to realize that pot is going to be legal in this country in one form or another, and virtually every other state,” he said. “We can either figure out how to regulate it by putting a U.S. Department of Agriculture regimen in [and] an [Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] regimen in the same way that we do with alcohol and tobacco are.”

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Veterans deserve change. US should reschedule cannabis now.

When our nation’s heroes return home, they often face a quiet suffering — something I have seen happen so often in my peers. As a combat veteran and an advocate for those who have worn the uniform, I know that so many of us face these challenges long after we return home. Post-traumatic stress (PTS) is a battlefield of its own — invisible, relentless, and too often fought alone.

Over the years, I’ve dedicated my life to improving the lives of our veterans, whether serving as a Veterans Fellow and Lead Policy Advisor on Military and Veterans Affairs to Sen. Chuck Grassley, leading within the Iowa Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), or conducting academic research focused on veterans’ issues. One thing has become undeniably clear: it’s time to reschedule cannabis as a Schedule III substance under federal law, a change that is backed by President Donald Trump, which would open the door for unlocking its therapeutic potential for veterans suffering from PTS and other chronic illnesses.

Currently, cannabis remains a Schedule I substance — the same category as heroin — defined as having “no accepted medical use” and a “high potential for abuse.” This is not only scientifically outdated, but also morally indefensible. Veterans are not asking for a miracle cure. We are asking for options. We are asking for the freedom to explore alternative treatments when conventional therapies — prescription medications, talk therapy, or exposure therapy — fall short. For many veterans, they do. And for some, cannabis has helped where nothing else has.

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