The Florida marijuana legalization ballot initiative campaign has launched two new ads as the election nears: one slams the hypocrisy of criminalizing marijuana when alcohol is legal, and the other features a county sheriff calling for an end to marijuana prohibition.
Smart & Safe Florida has run a number of ads in recent weeks touting support from officials and groups aimed at highlighting the marijuana bill's bipartisan appeal. Its latest ad focuses on one of the most common arguments made by proponents of reform: that it makes no sense to ban adult-use marijuana when alcohol is legal, especially considering the relative harms of each substance.
“In Florida, you can go into any store and buy beer, but if you buy marijuana you can go to jail,” supporters argue in an ad titled “No,” which was released on Tuesday. “It's actually safer than alcohol, yet the government treats it completely differently. It doesn't make sense.”
“Amendment 3 will legalize marijuana for adults that is safe, lab-tested and available for purchase in a store, not on the street,” he said. “It's time to give responsible adults the freedom to make their own choices. Vote YES on Amendment 3.”
Incidentally, a majority of Americans agree that cannabis is safer than alcohol, according to a recent poll. Smart & Safe Florida also pointed to federal data showing that alcohol has higher rates of use disorder and more serious side effects than marijuana.
On Monday, the campaign released another ad, titled “Direct,” in which Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young voices his support for the cannabis initiative, in part because it argues that giving adults regulated access to marijuana reduces the risk of them consuming tainted product on the illegal market.
“Illegal marijuana laced with illegal drugs like fentanyl has taken lives, and I know because I've seen it firsthand,” he said. “The Third Amendment will save lives by making marijuana safe, regulated and lab-tested.”
“Amendment 3 will protect our communities from dangerous illegal drugs while allowing law enforcement to focus on serious crimes,” he added. “Vote YES on Amendment 3 — it's the smarter and safer choice for Florida.”
Advocates have leaned strongly toward the side of law enforcement in the reform debate, airing another ad earlier this month featuring a retired police officer who similarly argued that regulated access serves the interests of public health and safety and helps officers prioritize more serious crimes.
Meanwhile, Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith also voted in favor of Amendment 3, becoming the first conservative sheriff in the state to support the reform.
Smith told Action News Jax that during his tenure he's “probably put more people in jail for misdemeanor marijuana possession than anyone else” but that he feels the time has come for a policy change — a sentiment based in part on his brother's experience with medical marijuana.
At the same time, two Republican lawmakers representing Florida also recently spoke out about the state's marijuana legalization plan, with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) predicting the plan will fail and Rep. Byron Donald (R-FL) saying he remains undecided about the bill even after former President Donald Trump voiced his support.
Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried has laid out a framework of cannabis regulations she thinks the Legislature should enact if voters approve reform, including automatic expungement of past marijuana convictions, measures to reduce the risk of industry monopoly and redirecting tax revenue to Black communities and education.
Florida's Republican and Democratic senators recently teamed up to promote the state's marijuana legalization plan, appearing together in a new campaign ad, while Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to oppose the bill, arguing it would benefit corporations known as the “marijuana cartels.”
Sen. Joe Gruters (R), former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and Sen. Shevrin Jones (D), standing side by side in a Smart & Safe Florida ad, acknowledged that they “agree on a lot, on almost nothing,” and that they would each vote for their respective party's presidential candidate, but “we agree that Amendment 3 is good for the state of Florida.”
The ad comes amid a wave of endorsements from Florida Young Republicans and Florida's Senate Democrats, among others, marking another example of bipartisan unity around reform.
Despite polls consistently showing the ballot measure garnering majority support from both Democrats and Republicans, and even support from 2024 GOP candidates, Florida's governor has not backed down in his fight to block it.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers and Republican state Sen. Gruters also met with Trump before he approved Amendment 3, a federal debt rescheduling and banking access for the industry.
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Members of Florida's congressional delegation have provided mixed feedback on Amendment 3.
Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, a pro-legalization Republican, recently said he plans to vote against the change because he feels it should become law, rather than a constitutional amendment, which would be more difficult to change.
Meanwhile, Rep. Brian Mast (R-Fla.), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted the bill would pass earlier this year.
Meanwhile, a separate recent poll by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the marijuana bill, found that 59 percent of voters in the state support Amendment 3.
Another poll by the James Madison Institute (JMI) showed that 64% of Florida voters support the legalization proposal.
Colorado's decline in marijuana tax revenue is due in part to reduced tourist demand as the state legalizes, report says
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