Voters in Marco Island City might be allowed to express their opinions regarding whether their state will allow selling of recreational cannabis if its use becomes legalized within the State of Florida.

A statewide referendum plan was scheduled for later this year but supporters chose to retreat from their plans. The project aimed at collecting 700,000 signatures to legalize marijuana sales and possession in Marco Island. However, the supporters through their organization, Make It Legal Florida, failed to meet the threshold of the required signatures.

Looking forward to 2022 ballot

Supporters of the initiative now look forward to having their opinions placed on the 2022 ballot. The signed petitions remain valid for 2 years and so far, the state has cleared 295,072 of the required signatures. A section of the verbalism in their petition seeks to allow “existing medical marijuana treatment centers in the state the right to sell marijuana and other accessories, if clearly labeled and enclosed in childproof packaging.”

Allowance of medical marijuana use Marco Island has been a contentious issue dating back to 2014. Currently, no dispensary operates within Marco City although most residents are not opposed to the medical use of cannabis. However, they are “concerned with the potential for being the only outlet within the county and for the eventual addition of recreational uses,” as a media outlet earlier reported.

The council has scheduled a meeting on May 4, 2020 where a citizens committee will present the petitions it has been collecting to prohibit the sales of recreational cannabis in any of the districts of Marco Island. If it goes through, it would only affect recreational cannabis but not the sale of medical cannabis products or CBD oils.

Decision

Based on the unfolding situations, two options are available for the council. First, it can choose to accept the petition and conduct two hearings to adopt the ordinance. Second, the council can choose to approve the presentation and forward it to the voters for approval or disapproval during the Primary Day Election due on August 18.

The citizens’ committee, dubbed Ban Recreational Marijuana (BRM), operates under the slogan “Let the Voters Decide.” Even as more states agitate for cannabis decriminalization and allowance of recreational marijuana in the U.S., the May 4 meeting is set to reveal which direction Marco Island City will take.