The number of valid petition signatures submitted to the state for a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize medical-marijuana has soared to more than 220,000 — nearly a third of the signatures needed to get the issue on the November 2016 ballot.
As of mid-day Thursday, the signature total was at 222,349, according to the Florida Division of Elections website. The political committee People United for Medical Marijuana must submit a total of 683,149 signatures to get on the ballot. As an indication of the rapid increase, 73,713 valid signatures had been submitted to the state as of Aug. 31. Along with submitting enough signatures, backers of the amendment also need the Florida Supreme Court to sign off on the proposed ballot language. A Supreme Court hearing date had not been set Thursday.
The People United for Medical Marijuana effort, which is more commonly known as “United for Care,” comes after supporters narrowly failed in 2014 to pass an initiative that would have legalized medical marijuana. Constitutional amendments require support from 60 percent of voters, and the 2014 initiative received about 58 percent.
Source: The News Service of Florida
