TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Local 10 News This Week In South Florida Anchor Glenna Milberg interviewed Glenn Burhans, Jr., a Tallahassee-based attorney, on Sunday about an effort to change the state’s laws on adult marijuana use.
Burhans, of Stearns Weaver Miller, is the general counsel for Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee behind the “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” ballot initiative 25-01.
“It should be hard to amend the Constitution, but it should not be virtually impossible,” Burhans told Milberg about the obstacles the political committee has faced in the process. “It should not require tens of millions of dollars to get there.”
Burhans said Smart & Safe Florida had filed two lawsuits against Secretary of State Cord Byrd in Leon County court to “compel him to do his job,” as required by state statute.
“The first time was to send the petition to the attorney general, so he could request that the Florida Supreme Court review the ballot language,” Burhans told Milberg. “This most recent case, just filed last week, involves compelling the secretary to report the verification totals on the division’s website on a weekly basis.”
The committee needs 880,062 signatures to file a petition for a constitutional amendment on the next Florida ballot by Feb. 1, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
“We are actually very close to meeting the constitutional threshold,” Burhans told Milberg.
As of Sunday, the committee reported having 714,888 valid signatures, about 80% of the signatures required.
“When we look at what we have in the pipeline right now, and our continual efforts, we think we are going to make it, so we feel good about where we are,” Burhans said.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier recently announced that Teagen Targhuhanuchi, 41, of Titusville, was arrested in a fraud case related to the petition.
“There is no excuse for a mega marijuana corporation and its affiliates to fraudulently hijack Florida’s Constitution,” Uthmeier said in a statement. “This behavior is a direct attack on election integrity, and we will hold anyone who commits or participates in these crimes fully accountable.”
Uthmeier launched 46 related investigations.
“The investigations that the attorney general has announced are the circulators that we, Smart & Safe, reported to the state,” Burhans said. “We have a very vigorous anti-fraud program.”
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