TAMPA, FL — With just five days left in the election, races are heating up in Florida.
One of the hottest contests is the battle over Amendment 3, which would allow for the recreational use of marijuana.
If you turn on your TV or radio or visit a social media site, you're bound to find at least one ad trying to sway your vote either way.
But are the ads misleading?
I-Team investigator Adam Walser is looking into claims being made in an ad opposing Amendment 3 that says if the amendment passes, indoor and outdoor spaces will soon be reeking of pot.
Restaurants
“Dude what’s the problem with Amendment 3?” a man in the ad says.
The setting is a Florida diner.
“It’s not just about smoking a little weed in your house, it’s about smoking anywhere. Anywhere in public. Even at restaurants,” replies the man sitting next to him.
“Nobody wants that,” chimes in an actress portraying a waitress.
Actual waitress Jessica Martin has served customers at Mom’s Place restaurant for two decades.
She says she remembers the bad old days of people smoking at the table.
“We still have some of the signs up. It was disgusting. One side was smoking and the other wasn’t. You don’t see any wall here,” Martin said.
But nobody’s been smoking inside Mom’s Place since 2003, after 71 percent of Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment to ban smoking in all enclosed indoor workplaces, including restaurants.
“We wouldn’t let people smoke cigarettes in here. We don’t let people vape in here,” Martin said.
She says if someone tries to smoke in the restaurant, they are asked to leave.
“You want to smoke some weed, you can do it outside,” Martin said.
Bars
“Smoking at home is one thing but not in our bar,” says another actor in the commercial while sitting on a bar stool.
The same state law prohibiting smoking in restaurants also prevents smoking in bars.
Hotels
“Can you imagine what our hotels would smell like? That would be awful,” a woman says, walking through the lobby of a hotel.
Most Florida hotel rooms are non-smoking.
People who smoke in them face cleanup fees of $250 or more and hotel managers tell us many of those fines already go to marijuana smokers.
Sports stadiums
“Weed in public spaces. Think about it. 70,000 people in a stadium,” an actor standing in front of a stadium says.
But that won’t be the case at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, where smoking is not permitted.
Theme Parks
“And what about our theme parks?” the same actor asks in the ad.
Both Walt Disney World and Busch Gardens have designated cigarette smoking areas, but both prohibit marijuana.
That’s despite the fact that nearly a million Floridians already have medical marijuana cards.
Parks and Beaches
“What about our playgrounds? Can you imagine bringing your family here just as I bring my family to a park where there’s innocent children and people are smoking marijuana everywhere?” Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis says, standing in front of a playground.
Amanda Rabelo, who was visiting Al Lang Park in Tampa on Tuesday shares her concerns.
Rabelo doesn’t want people smoking marijuana around her young daughter.
“I feel like everything will just go out of the window and everybody will be doing whatever, whenever,” she said.
But Eva Chadwick, who moved from Washington, D.C. where recreational marijuana is legal, says most people there don’t smoke marijuana in public.
“I smoke cigarettes. I don’t pull it out at the park. I have respect for other people,” Chadwick said.
In 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law House Bill 105, which allowed cities and counties to restrict smoking and parks and beaches. And many did so immediately.
The City of Tampa is currently considering a smoking ban in parks, which means violators could face fines.
"Florida man is Florida man"
While Chadwick believes the claims in the ad may be exaggerated, she admits she has caught the occasional whiff of weed in Tampa long before election day.
“Florida man is Florida man. People are gonna do what they do,” she said.
