Recreational Pot Initiative Tops $300,000

TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami/NSF) – A political committee backing a proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana use raised $307,522 in October, with $250,000 coming from the medical-marijuana company Trulieve, according to a newly filed finance report.

The committee Sensible Florida, Inc. had about $314,000 in cash on hand as of Oct. 31, the report posted on the state Division of Elections website said.

The committee is proposing a ballot initiative that would allow people 21 or older to grow and use marijuana, with a cap of 18 plants per household.

It also would prevent state lawmakers from trying to limit the percentage of euphoria-inducing THC in marijuana --- an issue that has repeatedly been debated by the Legislature.

The Supreme Court in June rejected an earlier Sensible Florida proposal, saying in a 5-2 decision that a ballot summary would be misleading to voters.

Sensible Florida would need to submit 891,589 valid petition signatures and get Supreme Court approval before it could take the new version to voters.

The state Division of Elections website did not show that any valid petition signatures had been submitted as of Tuesday afternoon.

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