TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — These are the final moments of the 2024 election. It’s now or never for compelling messages and endorsements. Those backing recreational marijuana are trying to flood the zone with supportive content before it’s too late.
With 60% support, Amendment Three legalizes cannabis for those 21 and up. No medical marijuana card is required.
The campaign behind it all, Smart & Safe Florida, is out with one of their final ads before Election Night. It’s all about the safety of legalization. You can watch it here.
Backing it up -- a new endorsement from a coalition of prosecutors, cops, and judges, LEAP (Law Enforcement Action Partnership), a nonpartisan criminal justice reform organization.
“It’s about time we free up police resources to tackle crimes of violence — to move aware from the disparities that came with marijuana enforcement laws,” said Neill Franklin, LEAP's executive director and Maryland State Police Major.
Major Franklin said LEAP was backing A3 because it believes legalization would make things safer for Florida. Not just because of a refocused police force, but because street drugs would become regulated with safety standards similar to Florida's medical marijuana program.
“When you have regulation, you now give your legislative body the opportunity to put quality control measures in place," said Franklin. "In the illicit market, there are absolutely no quality control measures being put in place by the community.”
Beyond that, the group cites studies showing legalization can lead to a decrease in teen use. With a legal supply available to the public, fewer illicit vendors operate. Kids, in turn, have more limited access.
“I would say that, and I don't mean this in a bad way, but I would say that's the intellectual argument,” Dr. Joe Ladapo, Florida's Surgeon General.
Florida’s surgeon general is among the state officials who told us last week legalization was dangerous. Not only did he think the ballot amendment was written too broadly, but he cited research— backed by the National Institutes of Health— showing heavy use of cannabis is connected to addiction, risk of cancer, and mental illness.
“The evidence is very strong that it increases the risk of schizophrenia in young people," said Ladapo. "I mean stone cold-- stone cold, solid evidence for this.”
It comes as the governor and staff have made an economic argument. They've regularly hammered medical marijuana companies like Trulieve for bankrolling A3.
“This is not something where new small businesses can come into the market, or people can grow it at home," said James Uthmeier, Gov. DeSantis' Chief of Staff. "You've got to buy it from these big weed corporations.”
Trulieve’s CEO would disagree with that. Kim Rivers told us recently as many as 47 companies are ready to compete over recreational marijuana. It could also mean a windfall of cash for the state, potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenue.
As allegations mount that the DeSantis administration is misusing taxpayer money to influence voters on abortion and marijuana issues, a political communications expert calls the state’s actions not just unprecedented, but dangerous.
