Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed legislation into law making it more difficult for entities to place ballot initiatives before Florida’s voters.

The law, which is already being legally challenged as unconstitutional, imposes significant new hurdles for those seeking to place initiatives on the state ballot. Specifically, it mandates that campaign supporters post a $1 million bond before commencing signature gathering; it prohibits the use of out-of-state canvassers, and it narrows the window during which signatures must be submitted to election officials from 30 days to ten, among other changes.

Florida law already requires ballot initiatives to pass by a vote of 60 percent rather than by a simple majority. No other state imposes that requirement.

Passage of the new law comes just months after the defeat of Amendment 3, which sought to regulate the adult-use cannabis market. Fifty-six percent of Floridians voted for the amendment, which was publicly opposed by Gov. DeSantis. During the campaign, Gov. DeSantis funneled millions of dollars in state funds to air anti-marijuana ads on television. 

Under the new law, tax dollars can no longer be spent by elected officials to oppose amendment campaigns.

In January, the campaign behind the Amendment 3 effort, Smart & Safe Florida, filed paperwork to place another ballot question before voters in 2026. Earlier this month, proponents filed over 218,000 signatures with state election officials. Proponents need to gather over 880,000 validated signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.

Lawmakers in other states are also seeking to make it more difficult for voters to decide on marijuana-related ballot initiatives. In Texas, lawmakers have advanced SB 1870, which forbids voters from deciding upon any local ballot efforts that seek to decriminalize marijuana. In Idaho, lawmakers approved a resolution asking voters to provide legislators with the exclusive authority to amend state laws specific to the legalization or decriminalization of marijuana and other controlled substances. If enacted by voters next year, no future initiatives pertaining to how marijuana or other controlled substances are regulated will be permitted to appear on the Idaho ballot.

The Office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) announced on Thursday that the state’s ban on intoxicating hemp products has seen 99.7% compliance among the more than 11,000 businesses visited by Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) agents.

The governor introduced the emergency regulations last September, and lawmakers quickly approved the plan, which took immediate effect. Officials said at the time that the proposal — which bans hemp-based foods, beverages, and dietary products that contain any amount of THC or other intoxicating cannabinoids — would help prevent children in the state from being exposed to intoxicants.

Before the ban, alcohol retailers and other shops around the state were selling intoxicating, cannabinoid-infused hemp products, including beverages and other consumables. Officials started seizing products shortly after the ban took effect.

Earlier this year, independent testing revealed that many of the widely-available intoxicating hemp products contain synthetic or semi-synthetic cannabinoids such as delta-8 or HHC. These compounds, which can produce psychoactive effects similar to cannabis, are often manufactured through chemical conversion processes and sold without meaningful oversight. In many cases, products were inaccurately labeled, lacked proper dosage guidance, and contained unknown contaminants — posing potential risks to consumers.

“Our licensees have overwhelmingly complied with the regulation. On the few occasions when ABC agents found items during inspections, they’ve ensured these harmful products are removed from shelves.” — ABC Chief Deputy Director Frank Robles, in a press release

In October, a California judge upheld the emergency regulations after hemp companies filed a legal challenge attempting to end the enforcement actions.

The governor said the regulations help to “ensure intoxicating hemp products are out of reach of vulnerable groups like children,” and that, “We must always put the safety of Californians first.”

While California’s enforcement focuses on in-store retail sales, intoxicating hemp products remain widely available online, often shipped directly to consumers in states with little or no regulation. This patchwork of oversight has fueled concern among public health experts and cannabis policy groups, who have called for more consistent rules to govern cannabinoid products across state lines.

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A military veteran who’s become an advocate for psilocybin access met with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) staff, and the secretary himself, on Wednesday to discuss the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine for the veteran community.

As VA Secretary Doug Collins continues to promote psychedelics as a possible alternative treatment option for those suffering from serious mental health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Matthew “Whiz” Buckley—founder of the No Fallen Heroes Foundation—was invited to VA headquarters to share his perspective.

Buckley told Marijuana Moment on Thursday that it felt symbolic his meeting took place almost exactly four years after he had his own experience with psychedelic medicine, which led him to create the foundation in hopes of giving other veterans a chance to combat their mental wounds with psilocybin therapy.

Collins, a former GOP congressman, wasn’t scheduled to participate in the meeting—but he proactively made time to introduce himself to Buckley, who late last month directed a post on the social media site X to the secretary encouraging him to go “full throttle” on the push for psychedelic access for veterans.

Buckley, a graduate of the Navy’s TOPGUN program, knows something about going full throttle. And shortly after Collins responded to the post, affirming his commitment to supporting psychedelics research and working with Congress to explore the treatment option, the secretary briefly raised the issue in a Cabinet meeting with President Donald Trump.

Buckley said Collins told him essentially “the VA is on this” and “if anybody’s going to do it, we’re going to do it.”

“He could not have been more bullish,” Buckley said, adding that he conveyed to the secretary at the end of their meeting that his hope is that VA does the work to provide this access so that his foundation becomes redundant. The message was well-received, he said.

With VA staff, Buckley said he recommended that one initial step that could be implemented without significant federal policy changes, given that substances like psilocybin are strictly prohibited, is providing vouchers for veterans who access plant medicine outside of the U.S.

Collins, for this part, disclosed last month that he had an “eye-opening” talk with U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the therapeutic potential of psychedelic medicine. And Collins said he’s open to the idea of having the government provide vouchers to cover the costs of psychedelic therapy for veterans who receive services outside of VA as Congress considers pathways for access.

During a Senate committee hearing on Tuesday, he separately reiterated his commitment to exploring the efficacy of psychedelic therapy to address serious mental health conditions that commonly afflict military veterans.

On Thursday, bipartisan congressional lawmakers also asking the VA head to meet with them to discuss ways to provide access to psychedelic medicine for military veterans.

In a letter sent to Collins on Wednesday, Reps. Lou Correa (D-CA) and Jack Bergman (R-MI)—co-chairs of the Congressional Psychedelic Advancing Therapies (PATH) Caucus—said they were “encouraged by your recent remarks about the importance of pursuing research into psychedelic treatments and other alternative treatments to improve Veterans’ care.”

Correa and Bergman separately introduced a bill last month to provide $30 million in funding annually to establish psychedelics-focused “centers for excellence” at VA facilities, where veterans could receive novel treatment involving substances like psilocybin, MDMA and ibogaine.

Bergman has also expressed optimism about the prospects of advancing psychedelics reform under Trump, arguing that the administration’s efforts to cut spending and the federal workforce will give agencies “spines” to tackle such complex issues.

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In December, VA separately announced that it’s providing $1.5 million in funding to study the efficacy of MDMA-assisted therapy for veterans with PTSD and alcohol use disorder (AUD).

Last year, Rachel Yehuda, who has overseen some psychedelic research as director of mental health at VA’s James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, also touted an initial study the agency funded that produced “stunning and robust results” from its first-ever clinical trial into MDMA therapy.

In January, former VA Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal said that it was “very encouraging” that Trump’s pick to have Kennedy lead HHS has supported psychedelics reform. And he hoped to work with him on the issue if he stayed on for the next administration, but that didn’t pan out.

Trump’s New Surgeon General Pick Had ‘Meaningful Experiences’ With Psychedelics, But Said Marijuana Harms The Ability To ‘Make Good Energy’

Image courtesy of Kristie Gianopulos.