TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Less than two weeks from election night, two very different messages have emerged from those fighting for and against recreational marijuana. Amendment Three, if approved, allows those 21 and up to use cannabis products without a medical permit.
In the remaining days until election night, several of Florida’s top officials are offering warnings about the approval of A3. That includes the governor, Florida’s First Lady, and more recently, state Surgeon General Dr. Joe Ladapo.
“Policies that encourage its use are just not great policies,” said Dr. Ladapo.
Dr. Ladapo is a controversial figure in Florida politics. Appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and confirmed by the state Senate’s GOP majority, Ladapo has been hailed as a champion of individual rights by his supporters. He’s also drawn criticism from others for rebuffing COVID mitigation practices like masking and social distancing. More recently, his guidance on COVID boosters was dubbed “misinformation” by some media outlets.
During our about 20-minute chat, Dr. Ladapo didn’t explicitly encourage voters to reject Amendment Three. Instead, he listed numerous cannabis health risks, many backed by the National Institutes of Health. NIH reports connections between heavy use and addiction, increased risk of cancer, and even mental illness.
“It increases the risk of schizophrenia in young people,” said Dr. Ladapo. “I mean stone cold, stone cold— solid evidence for this.”
The Surgeon General didn’t stop there, however. This medical man of science offered up what he called the “spiritual” concern.
“Drugs diminish our ability to be all that we can be, to be representations of God's love, God's light, God's wisdom, God's care,” said Dr. Ladapo. “And you know, frankly, for I find that to be a much more compelling reason to avoid policies that encourage the use of drugs, whatever those might be. In this case, we're talking about marijuana… I wouldn't even call it moral, because moral implies judgment.”
Ladapo’s comments come atop a laundry list from Gov. DeSantis. He’s pushed Florida to run taxpayer-funded “PSAs” warning about the danger of use and tells reporters approval will create a quality of life issue. Plus, DeSantis often reminds marijuana companies like Trulieve stand to financially benefit. The medical marijuana producer and distributor is a major contributor to Amendment 3, with more than $80 million invested.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers has been traveling the state this week showing the rigorous safety measures Florida has for medical cannabis. In Tallahassee, on Thursday, Rivers said she wants the same guardrails for recreational use.
“Those rules would apply to and we would expect those rules to apply to the adult use marketplace as well,” said Rivers. “So we have a framework in place. We're not building from scratch.”
The CEO cites data that teen use declines with legalization, suggesting better regulation means tighter access, with fewer people using illegally. As far as the big financial boon for her company…
“We have 25 companies currently, today that do business,” Rivers said. “There are more medical marijuana companies in the state of Florida than there are grocery store chains, as an example. And so this idea that there is, you know, no competition, or there's limited market is absolutely false. In fact, there are 22 more licenses that are sitting on the governor's desk waiting for him to sign. That means that, you know, we could have today, or when this amendment passes, and certainly when it's implemented, 47 companies in the State of Florida that are authorized to do business.”
Florida would get more money too, hundreds of millions in estimated new tax revenue. It’s one of the reasons a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers has backed the idea.
“So I'm a recovering lawyer, and I think they brainwashed me in law school to be a little more pessimistic,” said Rivers.“But I always run— I always say that we run like we're 10 points behind.”
Whether they’re 10 points behind or ahead will all be up to the voters. They’re now weighing in on what could be a history-making moment for Florida. The latest poll from UNF showed likely Florida voters at 66% support. That is beyond the 60-point mark needed. That’s as a new Florida Chamber poll showed Amendment 3 at 57%.
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