TAMPA, Fla. — Amendment 3, Florida’s recreational marijuana measure, is projected to fail.
In order to pass Amendment 3, 60% of Floridians needed to vote "yes." Only 55.7% voted "yes," according to the Associated Press.
That means recreational marijuana use is expected to remain illegal under Florida law.
This result is a win for critics of the measure like Gov. Ron DeSantis, who previously called Amendment 3 a corporate scheme.
“This is one of the most egregious things I've ever seen attempted,” DeSantis said, adding that measure is not about personal freedom but making money for Trulieve, the company that bankrolled it.
The governor previously blasted the proposal and encouraged people to vote “no,” arguing the amendment would lessen the quality of life, cause problems on the roadway and lead to a flurry of litigation for small businesses.
While Trulieve stood to make a large profit if the amendment passed, CEO Kim Rivers said the company’s motivation was decriminalization and increasing safe access to marijuana.
“Over half of Americans today enjoy the ability to consume marijuana as an adult responsibly in their current state. And so really, the time has come for Florida to do the same and to turn the page,” Rivers said.
If Amendment 3 passed, Floridians ages 21 would have been able to legally possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana and up to 5 grams of marijuana in concentrate form for recreational use.
10 Tampa Bay’s Aaron Parseghian contributed to this report.