Florida Marijuana Legalization to Fund Teacher Salaries Amendment (2016)
| Florida Marijuana Legalization to Fund Teacher Salaries Amendment | |
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| Type | Amendment |
| Origin | Citizens |
| Topic | Marijuana |
| Status | Not on ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
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| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
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The Marijuana Legalization to Fund Teacher Salaries Amendment (#15-15) was an initiated constitutional amendment that did not make the Florida ballot on November 8, 2016.
The measure would have legalized marijuana for anyone at least 21 years of age and classified it as a dietary supplement. Marijuana sales would have been regulated by the Department of Business, and sales tax revenue would have been used to fund teacher salaries.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Cannabis as a Dietary Supplement for Personal and Medical Use; Funding for Teacher Salaries. [2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ | Cannabis is reclassified as a dietary supplement and regulated by the Department of Business with a sales tax on cannabis for teacher salaries. This amendment by affirmative vote will grant those 21 and older the right to possess up to four ounces of cannabis for medical or personal use; grow no more than ten flowering plants at a time per home, within the person’s residence. This amendment does not authorize Federal Law protections or violations.[2] | ” |
Constitutional changes
The measure would have added Section 30 to Article X of the Florida Constitution.
Full text
The full text of the measure was as follows:[1]
| “ | A. POLICY. (1) It is unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally to manufacture distribute or possess with intent to manufacture or distribute, a controlled substance. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, it shall be lawful, and shall not be an offense under this section, for any person twenty-one (21) years of age or older to possess, use, purchase or transport cannabis weighing less than four ounces or to possess, grow, harvest or process, within the interior of a house, building or rental unit that constitutes such person’s principal residence, no more than 10 mature, flowering cannabis plants, and to possess within such house, building or apartment the cannabis produced by such plants; provided that none of such cannabis or such plants is sold or offered or made available for sale.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section, no state government agency or office shall limit or refuse to provide any facility service, program or benefit to any person based upon or by reason of conduct that is made lawful by this subsection. (3) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any state government agency or office, or any employer, to permit or accommodate the use, consumption, possession, transfer, display, transportation, sale or growing of cannabis in the workplace or to affect the ability of any such agency, office or employer to establish and enforce policies restricting the use of cannabis by employees. (4) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to permit driving under the influence of cannabis or to modify or affect the construction or application of any provision of this Section related to driving under the influence of cannabis or driving while impaired by cannabis. (5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to prohibit any person, business, corporation, organization or other entity, or state government agency or office, who or which occupies, owns or controls any real property, from prohibiting or regulating the possession, consumption, use, display, transfer, distribution, sale, transportation or growing of cannabis on or in that property. (6) Nothing in this subsection shall apply to those under the age of 21 (7) Cannabis activities authorized by this Section use will not result in removal of one’s child or parental rights from Child Protective Services (CPS), the Department of Children and Families (DCF), or any other state governmental agency. (8) State Asset Forfeiture is considered unlawful by this Section if it is based upon any authorized cannabis activities mentioned in this section. (9) Any paraphernalia sold for the purpose of cannabis application are legal for sale to those 21 years and older. (10) This entire section shall apply to its fullest extent upon passage. (11) A recommendation for cannabis from a doctor or therapist is permissible under this Section although not required for any authorized cannabis related acts covered in this Section. (12) No regulations or Florida law may limit or ban any cannabis strain based on its chemical profile such as THC and CBD ratios. (13) Cannabis is reclassified and made available to the public (21+) as a dietary supplement within 6 months. Dispensing organizations will be regulated by the Department of Business. Regulations may include safety policies, certifications, inspections, and any other regulations consistent with the Section. (14) A 10% sales tax will be incurred on any cannabis bought or products with any elements of cannabis infused. This tax may be lowered but not raised above 10% with revenue strictly and evenly dispersed amongst public school teacher salaries. (15) Cannabis flower, oil, infused edibles, and hashish are all equally lawful for sale and offered equal protections under this section. (16) Cannabis advertising and marketing on television, radio, newspaper, and websites will be strictly regulated by the Florida Legislature (17) Nothing in this section shall require or disallow health insurance providers or Florida government agencies to reimburse persons for expenses related to the medical use of cannabis. B. DEFINITIONS. For the purposes of this act, cannabis and marijuana are defined as (1) a genus of flowering plants that includes three different species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica and Cannabis ruderalis, (2) any member of such genus, and (3) any part or any derivative of such plant or plants. This section shall be interpreted liberally to affect the purposes set forth herein. C. LEGISLATION. Nothing in this section shall limit the legislature from enacting laws consistent with this section or establishing public regulatory committees D. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this section are severable and if any clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this measure, or an application thereof, is adjudged invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction other provisions shall continue to be in effect to the fullest extent possible.[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- Supporters needed to collect a minimum of 683,149 valid signatures by February 1, 2016, in order to qualify the measure for the November 2016 ballot.
- By February 1, 2016, petitioners had submitted 263 valid signatures, according to the secretary of state.[1]
- Supporters did not collect enough signatures by the deadline to reach the ballot.
State profile
| Demographic data for Florida | ||
|---|---|---|
| Florida | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 20,244,914 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 53,625 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 76% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 16.1% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.6% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.4% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 23.7% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.3% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $47,507 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.8% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Florida. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Florida
Florida voted Republican in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, four are located in Florida, accounting for 1.94 percent of the total pivot counties.[3]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Florida had three Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 1.66 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respsectively.
More Florida coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Florida
- United States congressional delegations from Florida
- Public policy in Florida
- Endorsers in Florida
- Florida fact checks
- More...
See also
- Florida 2016 ballot measures
- 2016 ballot measures
- Florida Legislature
- List of Florida ballot measures
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Florida Department of State, "Constitutional Amendment Petition Form," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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