PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) – On Wednesday, First Lady of Florida Casey DeSantis held a press conference at Florida State University in Panama City to discuss Amendment 3.
Local and state leaders, including Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford and Bay District School’s Superintendent Mark McQueen, spoke at the event. Amendment 3 allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for recreational use. (RELATED: What Amendment Three does and doesn’t do)
Sheriff Tommy Ford vocalized that he is against Amendment 3, citing the potential impacts on Panama City’s tourism industry and the possibility of causing an influx of fentanyl trafficking.
Ford stated that the community has fought for the “family-friendly” title and expressed that the widespread use of the drug could significantly affect tourism.
“We rely on our tourism industry,” Sheriff Tommy Ford said. “People come here to get away from that kind of thing.”
Sheriff Tommy Ford also discussed concerns over an increase in fentanyl trafficking as well as black market activity, stating that with taxation and regulation, the black market moves in to undercut the prices.
He also suggested that the same supply channels for marijuana ultimately invite fentanyl, aggravating what he says is a drug culture the city already has a problem with.
Smart and Safe Florida disagrees with the amendment, further negatively impacting fentanyl trafficking.
Smart and Safe Florida released two advertisements featuring Florida Sheriffs, Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith and
The ads explain that passing Amendment 3 alleviates an element of the fentanyl issue.
The sheriffs state that Amendment 3 will aid in getting fentanyl off the streets by supplying safe, tested, and regulated marijuana.
They also suggest that the passing will provide more funding for law enforcement, allowing them to focus on other crimes.
Superintendent Mark McQueen shared that he voted against Amendment 3, citing the impact widespread marijuana usage could have on children based on the change he’s seen since the passing of medicinal marijuana use.
McQueen said that adults with medical cards are not being responsible in protecting children from having access to medicinal marijuana, and this is impacting schools.
“What we are already seeing in Bay County with the legalization of medical marijuana is the infiltration of drugs into the school system,”
He explained that students are bringing THC devices and introducing the drug to other students. McQueen stated that over 70 students have been caught with marijuana.
Smart and Safe Florida disagrees that the amendment negatively impacts school systems.
In an advertisement on their page, a teacher states that the amendment would generate billions for Florida schools and aid in funding for teachers, according to the Florida Financial Impact Estimating Conference.
The conference took place on July 23, 2023.
You can watch the entire press conference here, or read more about our coverage here.
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First Lady of Florida Casey DeSantis held a press conference at Florida State University in Panama City to discuss Amendment 3, local and state leaders, including Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford and Bay District School’s Superintendent Mark McQueen, spoke at the event. Read More