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Florida Right of Adults to Cannabis Amendment (2016)
| Florida Right of Adults to Cannabis Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Amendment |
| Origin | Citizens |
| Topic | Marijuana |
| Status | Not on ballot |
| Not on Ballot |
|---|
 |
| This measure was not put on an election ballot |
| Voting on Marijuana | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Ballot Measures | |||
| By state | |||
| By year | |||
| Not on ballot | |||
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The Right of Adults to Cannabis Amendment (#15-20) was an initiated constitutional amendment that did not make the Florida ballot on November 8, 2016. The official title of this initiative was the "Right of Adults to Cannabis."
The measure would have allowed people 21 years of age or older to use, possess and cultivate marijuana. The state would have reserved its authority to regulate marijuana purchases and sales.[1]
The petition effort for this initiative continued and it became a potential measure for the ballot in Florida on November 6, 2018.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ | Right of Adults to Cannabis[2] | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[1]
| “ | This amendment guarantees the right of persons over twenty-one years of age to possess, use, and cultivate cannabis (commonly referred to as marijuana), reserving to the State the power to regulate its purchase and sale in the interest of health and safety. This amendment applies only to Florida law and state action, and does not immunize violations of federal law.[2] | ” |
Full text
The full text was as follows:[1]
| “ | All people in the State of Florida twenty-one years of age and older shall have the right under state laws to possession, use, and cultivation of cannabis. This right shall not be infringed except that the transfer of cannabis by purchase or sale may be regulated as necessary to ensure health and safety.
"Cannabis" in this section is defined as all parts of any plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not, and the seeds thereof. The provisions of this section are severable and if any clause or sentence of this measure, or an application thereof, is adjudged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, other provisions shall continue to be in effect to the fullest extent possible.[2] |
” |
Support
The group that led support for the initiative was Floridians for Freedom.[3]
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 4,189 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.[4]
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.
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Initiatives / Amendments / Revisions," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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