Florida’s state Supreme Court ruled Monday that a constitutional amendment to decriminalize medical marijuana can go before voters, rejecting opponents’ argument that the measure would mislead voters in legalizing the drug.
The high court ruled 4-3 in favor of allowing the constitutional amendment to move toward a vote in November, the Miami Herald reports. The proposed amendment would allow strains of marijuana with greater levels of substances that help prevent epileptic attacks and lower levels of the substance that makes people high.
Opponents of the amendment have said the initiative will mislead voters into legalizing marijuana in the state, but the Supreme Court said the proposed amendment’s purpose is clear, the Herald reports.
“Voters are given fair notice as to the chief purpose and scope of the proposed amendment, which is to allow a restricted use of marijuana for certain―debilitating medical conditions,” the court ruled.
The ballot measure will need to receive 60 percent of the vote in order to pass. If it passes, Florida would be the 21st state to decriminalize the drug for medicinal purposes. Marijuana remains illegal under federal law.