Florida voters rejected poll measures Tuesday to guard abortion rights and legalize marijuana, handing victories to Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who used state assets and campaigned closely to defeat the problems.
The abortion measure would have prevented lawmakers from passing any regulation that penalized, prohibited, delayed, or restricts abortion till fetal viability, which medical doctors say is someday after 21 weeks. The state’s restrictive six-week abortion regulation nonetheless stands. Florida is among the first states to reject abortion rights in a poll measure since Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers holds one of many medical marijuana firm’s edible merchandise whereas discussing product and packaging security requirements at an occasion in help of Modification 3
The marijuana measure would have allowed individuals 21 years outdated and older to own about 3 ounces of marijuana, and it will have allowed companies already rising and promoting medical marijuana to promote it to them. This vote got here at a time when federal officers are shifting to reclassify marijuana as a much less harmful drug.
The poll measures wanted approval from not less than 60% of voters. In different states, abortion rights helped drive turnout and had been a number one concern that allowed Democrats to retain a number of Senate seats in 2022.
DeSantis and different state leaders spent months campaigning towards the measures. Democrats closely campaigned in help of each points, hoping to encourage social gathering supporters to the polls. Republican have a 1 million-voter registration edge over Democrats.
Amongst DeSantis’ arguments towards the marijuana initiative is that it will have harm the state’s tourism due to a weed stench within the air. However different Republican leaders, together with Florida resident Donald Trump and former state GOP Chairman Sen. Joe Gruters, supported legalizing leisure marijuana.
Trump went backwards and forwards on how he would vote on the state’s abortion rights initiative earlier than lastly saying he would oppose it.
