TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – With Attorney General Pam Bondi declining to launch a challenge, the Florida Supreme Court on Friday called off a hearing scheduled for next month on a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana.
Justices still need to sign off on the wording of the ballot initiative before it could go to voters in November 2016. But without opposition to the wording, backers of the amendment appear likely to clear a key hurdle in the initiative process.
Recommended Videos
Bondi fought a similar 2014 marijuana initiative at the Supreme Court, but justices allowed the measure to go before voters. Ultimately, the 2014 initiative failed to pass. People United for Medical Marijuana, a political committee backing the legalization effort, tweaked the proposed 2016 ballot language to address concerns raised about the 2014 measure.
In a statement released by her office Monday, Bondi pointed to the 2014 ruling by the Supreme Court and indicated she would not challenge the revised initiative.
"Voters reviewed the language and at the polls made their decision that the (2014) amendment was bad for Florida,'' Bondi said. "Based on the court's decision in 2014, I have not filed a legal challenge to the current amendment, but my concerns with it are the same."
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments Dec. 8 but issued an order Friday scrapping them. If the Supreme Court approves the amendment's wording, supporters of the initiative will need to submit 683,149 valid petition signatures to reach the ballot.
The group had submitted 345,925 as of Friday afternoon, according to the state Division of Elections website.