The campaign behind a referendum to legalize marijuana in Florida has released two new ads ahead of the election – one denouncing the hypocrisy behind criminalizing cannabis when alcohol is legally available, and another featuring a county sheriff arguing for the repeal of marijuana prohibition.
Smart & Safe Florida has run numerous ads in recent weeks, while promoting endorsements from officials and organizations designed to underscore the bipartisan appeal of the marijuana measure. In its latest ad, the organization focused on one of the most common arguments made by reform advocates: It doesn’t make sense to ban recreational cannabis when alcohol is legal, especially given the relative dangers of the two substances.
“You can go to any store in Florida and buy beer, but if you buy marijuana, you’ll be locked up,” says one supporter in the ad titled “Different,” released Tuesday. “It’s actually safer than alcohol, but the government treats it completely differently. That doesn’t make sense.”
“Amendment 3 legalizes marijuana for adults – safe, lab-tested and from the store, not the street,” he says. “It’s time to give responsible adults the freedom to make their own decisions. Vote yes on Amendment 3.”
Most Americans agree that cannabis is safer than alcohol, according to recent polls. Smart & Safe Florida also pointed to federal data suggesting that alcohol is associated with higher rates of abuse disorders and more side effects compared to marijuana.
On Monday, the campaign released a separate ad called “Firsthand,” in which Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young spoke in favor of the cannabis initiative, arguing, among other things, that regulated adult-use marijuana access could reduce the risk of adults consuming contaminated products from the illegal market.
“Illegal marijuana laced with illegal drugs like fentanyl has destroyed lives. I know this because I’ve experienced it myself,” he says. “Amendment 3 will save lives by making marijuana safe, regulated and lab-tested.”
“Amendment 3 will protect our community from dangerous illegal drugs while allowing law enforcement to focus on serious crimes,” he added. “Vote yes on Amendment 3 – the smarter, safer choice for Florida.”
Advocates have sided heavily with law enforcement in the reform debate, airing their own ad earlier this month in which a retired police officer also argued that regulated access would serve public health and safety and help officers prioritize more serious crimes.
Meanwhile, Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith has also spoken out in favor of Amendment 3, making him the first conservative sheriff in the state to support the reform measure.
Smith told Action News Jax that while he has “probably incarcerated more people for reprehensible amounts of marijuana than anyone else” during his tenure, he believes it is time for a change in policy – a view influenced in part by his brother’s experience with the positive effects of medical cannabis.
At the same time, two other Republican congressmen from Florida recently commented on the state’s initiative to legalize marijuana: Republican Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida predicted the initiative would fail, and Republican Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida said he was still undecided on the measure, despite former President Donald Trump’s support for it.
Separately, Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried is laying out a framework for cannabis regulation that she believes lawmakers should adopt if voters approve the reform, including automatic expungement of past marijuana convictions, measures to mitigate the risk of monopolization of the industry and directing tax revenue to Black communities and education.
Two Republican and Democratic senators from Florida recently teamed up to promote the state’s marijuana legalization initiative, appearing together in a new campaign ad as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continues to rail against the measure, claiming it would benefit a “weed cartel.”
Senator Joe Gruters (R), former chairman of the Florida Republican Party, and Senator Shevrin Jones (D) stood side by side in the Smart & Safe Florida commercial, acknowledging that while they “don’t agree on much – hardly anything” and each of them would vote for their respective party’s presidential candidate, “they agree on one thing: Amendment 3 is good for Florida.”
The ad comes amid a series of other statements of support, including from the Young Republicans of Florida and the Florida Senate Democratic Caucus – further evidence of bipartisan unity on the reform.
Although polls have consistently shown majority support for the bill among both Democrats and Republicans—and even though the Republican presidential candidate for 2024 supports it—Florida’s governor is not letting up in his fight against the bill.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers and Republican Senator Gruters also met with Trump before he endorsed Amendment 3 as well as federal debt restructuring and banking access for the industry.
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There was mixed feedback on Amendment 3 from members of Florida’s congressional delegation.
One Republican congressman who supports legalization, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), recently said he intends to vote against it for the sole reason that he believes the reform should be implemented through legislation rather than as a constitutional amendment, since amending it would prove more difficult.
On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure would pass.
Another recent poll by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which opposes the cannabis initiative, found that 59 percent of the state’s likely voters support Amendment 3.
A separate poll by the James Madison Institute (JMI) found that 64 percent of likely voters in Florida support the legalization proposal.
Colorado’s declining marijuana tax revenue is partly due to lower tourist demand as more states legalize marijuana, according to the report
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