No matter how wonderful it would have been; no matter how much the economy would have been bolstered; no matter how many activist’s hearts skipped a beat, there is still no recreational cannabis to be had in Florida.
In what appeared to be a recent ABC News item, which started off, “Weed smokers rejoice,” and went on to say that Florida had passed legalization legislation that would go into effect “by Easter,” Florida was declared legalized. The “article” even – incorrectly – quoted (D) Janet Cruz as saying, “The state budget was due two weeks ago, and Florida simply can’t afford to wait any longer. We deserve a real plan to create new jobs and stimulate our lagging economy, and that’s what this bill is.”
-
Related Story:Â Cannabis Business Employees May Not Qualify For TSA Fast-Track
There were some typo tells and lawmakers usually don’t roll out new bills according to holiday schedules, but the fake news item still caused a bit of an uproar on social media, where it spread like wildfire until debunked.
As of right now, Florida is one of the 29 legal states medicinally. There are plenty of activists on the ground trying to make legalization an actual reality, but that reality has not yet come to pass. States with legal recreational cannabis include: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont.
Though there are people fighting hard for legalization in Florida, it looks like it will be at least a couple more years before lawmakers will allow themselves to be brought onboard. Floridians for Freedom is an ambitious group looking to put legal cannabis on the November ballot. The Ballot Title is “Right of Adults to Cannabis,” but it doesn’t look like they’ll get the needed signatures in time this time around.
-
Related Story:Â Buying Marijuana Online Is Pretty Easy, Study Finds
According to News-Press, another group, Regulate Florida, has a more traditional approach to legalization. Whereas Floridians for Freedom want cannabis itself to be a right, Regulate Florida hopes to do just that, tax and regulate. No matter what, they both have uphill battles, important ones, but uphill.
In the meantime, Florida, just know that there are people working hard to give you complete adult access to the herb as soon as possible and do your part. It’s always good to fight the good fight!
