TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV/Gray Florida Capital Bureau) – Voters will decide if Florida will join 30 other states in legalizing recreational marijuana. Amendment 3 on the November ballot would allow anyone 21 and older to use and possess weed.
People can already buy weed at dispensaries across Florida after voters legalized pot for medicinal issues eight years ago.
“One in six adults readily admit to using marijuana on a regular basis,” Smart & Safe Florida spokesman Steven Vancore said.
Amendment 3 “allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption.”
Vancore said the group behind the proposed amendment.
“If Amendment 3 passes, we will take marijuana off the streets, put it in a safe regulated market,” Vancore said.
Regulation is key for Vancore. He said regulating marijuana could save thousands of lives across the Sunshine State.
“More and more street, illegal marijuana is being laced with dangerous drugs like fentanyl,” Vancore said.
Florida Politics:
More than 6,200 people died after using fentanyl in 2022 according to a Florida Medical Examiners’ report.
Legalizing marijuana has wide bi-partisan support with former President Donald Trump saying he will vote for Amendment 3.
However, Governor Ron DeSantis is blunt in his opposition.
“Do you want to walk down the street here and smell it? Do you want to be able to take your family and not be able to take your family out to dinner because you’re worried about it?. It reduces the quality of life everywhere this has tried,” Gov. DeSantis said during a news conference in April.
“This is not a good plan for Florida. There are multiple issues and problems with this amendment,” Vote No on 3 director of advocacy Jessica Spencer said.
Spencer doesn’t think legalizing marijuana will make the drug any safer. She said instead it will drive people to a cheaper black market.
“We have drug dealers that are on interviews saying ‘Oh this is wonderful. I have more customers,’” Spencer said.
Spencer said even with the potential of significant tax revenue, it wouldn’t be enough to offset the costs she feels recreational marijuana would bring.
“That puts a strain on our social services. It puts a strain on our emergency services and we don’t have the room or the need for added issues with our state,” Spencer said.
For Vancore, this amendment is about freedom.
“Those people should not be subject to either incarceration or potentially death,” Vancore said.
If voters approve Amendment 3, the legislature can regulate the marijuana industry and decide where revenue will go.
One Republican lawmaker who endorses this proposal already has a bill ready to ban public smoking.
For Amendment 3 to pass, 60 percent of voters will need to approve it.
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Legalizing marijuana has wide bi-partisan support with former President Donald Trump saying he will vote for Amendment 3. Read More