Florida voters have rejected the sale and distribution of medical marijuana in the state.

Amendment 2 had failed as it would not reach the necessary 60 percent to pass. With about 98 percent of precincts reporting, about 58 percent of voters had voted yes.

"I know we're gonna be back here at the next election, we're here to stay," Amendment 2 supporter Daniel Curtis said. "We're gonna make this happen sooner or later."

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one of the most vocal opponents of the measure, praised voters for not passing the amendment.

"We are confident that the voters of Florida have made the right decision," Judd said in a statement. "The people of Florida were too smart to buy into the weak language and huge loopholes into this amendment, which would have created de facto legalization of marijuana and given our children legal access."

The campaign for medical marijuana was among the most expensive ballot measures in the country, with millions spent on both sides.

State lawmakers had passed a narrow medical marijuana law earlier this year to allow low-potency strains of the drug for certain patients.

But supporters of Amendment 2 argued a broader law was necessary to make medical marijuana available to people representing a broader group of illnesses.

Opponents prevailed with warnings the amendment was too loosely worded and would result in a system where marijuana was medical in name only.