A federal judge has delivered a win to a Florida campaign seeking to put a marijuana legalization initiative on the state’s 2026 ballot—granting “complete relief” from provisions of a law Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed to impose serious restrictions on signature gathering.
In response to a motion for a preliminary injunction from the cannabis campaign Smart & Safe Florida, a U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida judge ruled on Thursday that the state’s law forces plaintiffs to “choose between curtailing their First Amendment rights” or “risk invalidation of verified petitions, crippling civil penalties, and further enforcement actions.”
While the law DeSantis signed in May wasn’t directly targeted at the cannabis initiative, there’s been concern among supporters that it could jeopardize an already complex and costly process to collect enough signatures to make the ballot. That’s because it would block non-residents and non-citizens from collecting signatures for ballot measures.
The governor had pitched the idea to lawmakers earlier this year, calling for changes to the petition gathering process that threaten to further complicate citizen-led reform efforts for a range of issues.
But presented with a legal challenge to the policy from several advocacy groups, including the cannabis campaign,
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