TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The man who backed Amendment 2, John Morgan, said the Legislature’s failure to include smoking in its medical marijuana implementation will speed up the process of legalizing recreational marijuana.
Activists agree, but two ballot initiatives collecting signatures aren’t pulling the numbers needed.
Morgan is suing the state for banning smoking in the final medical marijuana law. He believes voters didn’t get what they asked for and will take their anger out by voting for all-out legalization.
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“They have opened the door fully to recreational use in Florida, and I think it'll happen in the next three or four years,” Morgan said.
There are two measures gaining signatures for the 2018 election that seek to legalize recreational marijuana.
According to the Florida Department of State, one has more than 2,000 signatures, the other more than 11,000. Both are still a long shot away from the required 766,200 signatures.
There are patients who feel excluding smoking was the wrong move.
“Opening up smoking and opening up access to more patients and then recreationally will help with some of the problems we have right now with the opiate epidemic,” John Hightower said.
Drug Free America said those truly upset about the exclusion of smoking are, for the most part, not patients, but people who were hoping for recreational use from the beginning.
“If they can vape, I don't see what the argument is about not being able to smoke,” Drug Free American Deputy Director Amy Ronshausen said.
Hightower said he is skeptical anything will pass this year, but said there are promising signs recreational marijuana is gaining momentum.
“You can even hear it in the hallways of the Senate office building in the Capitol, that in a few years it will be recreational no matter what anybody says,” Hightower said.
Officials with Floridians for Freedom said they are currently processing several thousand additional signatures in support of their recreational marijuana ballot measure.
Similar ballot measure have come up in years past, but none have garnered enough support to make it to the ballot yet.