Florida Amendment 3 Sets Record As Most Expensive Marijuana Legalization Ballot Measure In History‌

Marijuana has been a recurring trend for ballot measures since at least 2010, though there were a few before then. From 2010 to 2023, 24 ballot measures legalized the recreational or personal use of marijuana. More than $174.83 million was raised between supporters ($146.98 million) and opponents ($27.85 million) of these ballot measures.

Before 2024, the most expensive marijuana legalization ballot measure was California’s Proposition 64, which voters approved in 2010. Proposition 64 received $27.14 million in contributions, including $25.07 million from supporters and $2.08 million from opponents.

In 2024, Florida Amendment 3 will be the new record holder for the most expensive marijuana legalization measure. With $105.08 million between supporters and opponents, Amendment 3 has already surpassed California Proposition 64 by $77.94 million, and there are still seven weeks remaining until the election on Nov. 5.

Supporters of Amendment 3, led by the Smart & Safe Florida PAC, received $90.44 million through Aug. 30. Opponents, led by the Keep Florida Clean PAC, received $14.64 million. There could be several reasons that campaign spending for Amendment 3 is higher than past marijuana legalization measures:

• In Florida, citizen-initiated constitutional amendments must receive a 60% vote. Just one legalization ballot initiative—Arizona Proposition 207—received more than 60% of the vote, with 60.03%. There were two legislative constitutional amendments, in Maryland and New Jersey, that also received more than 60%.
• Florida is a Republican trifecta, meaning Republicans control the legislature and governor’s office. In Republican trifectas, voters approved 50% of legalization measures, while in Democratic trifectas or divided governments, voters approved 90%, and the one defeated was from 2010.
• Trulieve, a marijuana business based in Florida with dispensaries in several states, has donated $82.89 million to the support campaign.
• While the support campaign has outraised the opposition 6-to-1, the opposition campaign is also the most expensive legalization opposition campaign on record, with $14.64 million. Ken Griffin, CEO of Citadel LLC and a resident of Florida, contributed $12.00 million to the opposition.

Looking at the 24 ballot measures from 2010 to 2023, the 16 voter-approved measures saw more support contributions than opposition contributions. However, several measures where supporters raised more than opponents were defeated. While no measures were approved when opponents raised more money, with six of eight defeated measures, supporters raised more funds than opponents. The average difference between supporters and opponents was similar for approved and defeated measures. Support campaigns raised an average of $5.03 million for approved measures more than opponents. For defeated measures, they raised an average of $4.84 million.

Florida Amendment 3 is not only the most expensive marijuana legalization measure on record, but it also ranks as the most expensive ballot measure of the year—a position typically held by California ballot measures. The second most expensive measure of the year is also in Florida, Amendment 4, which would provide for a state constitutional right to abortion. Amendment 4 has seen $56.79 million in contributions between supporters and opponents. As of Sept. 17, a California measure, Proposition 33, ranks third with $49.74 million between the support and opposition campaigns.

Produced in association with Ballotpedia