Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith grabbed attention when he publicly endorsed legalizing marijuana. He went a step further and cut an ad urging voters to pass an amendment decriminalizing pot for adult use.
“No one has arrested more people for marijuana than me,” Smith said in a new Smart & Safe Florida ad, “so when I say it’s time to stop ruining lives over marijuana, it’s time.”
In the 30-second ad, Smith asserts the current system destroys too many people’s lives by bringing consequences for using marijuana. Passing a measure would mean “giving freedoms for adults to use safe, regulated marijuana in their own homes, without the fear of being locked up.”
Smith previously discussed his evolution on marijuana, especially since Florida legalized the use of prescription cannabis for health ailments. He said his brother, a combat veteran, has seen a significant improvement in his day-to-day life since being prescribed medical marijuana.
But he also discussed seeing lives destroyed over marijuana use, something that has changed at a rate faster than statutes have evolved.
“At one point, if we were told a mother or father was smoking dope, the state could take their children,” Smith told Florida Politics previously. “When we would arrest someone for misdemeanor marijuana, they could spend days or weeks in jail. Now, they are typically released on their own recognizance or with a civil penalty or fine.”
He also stressed a desire to direct law enforcement resources at more serious drug pushers, which he reiterates in the latest ad.
“Amendment 3 will let us focus on serious crime, making our streets and neighborhoods safer,” Smith said.
The ad addresses criticisms from critics of the amendment, who have claimed decriminalizing marijuana won’t allow regulation. Smith stresses the state will be able to limit where people can consume the drug.
The latest ad follows a pattern of Smart & Safe reaching out to conservative-leaning voters, arguing Florida can create a fairly regulated marijuana market.
While the Florida Sheriffs Association has formally opposed Amendment 3, Smith is among several prominent law enforcement leaders who endorse it. Others include Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young, former Duval County Sheriff Nat Glover, and Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt.
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