Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday again lashed out against Amendment 3, a marijuana legalization initiative that\u2019s set to appear on his state\u2019s November ballot, making hyperbolic claims about what the reform would allow\u2014claims backers say are \u201cabsolutely untrue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Speaking to the Florida Republican delegation at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, DeSantis called the proposed constitutional amendment \u201climitless,\u201d arguing that it would establish a right to marijuana that would be more fundamental than First Amendment or Second Amendment protections for free speech and guns, respectively.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives you limitless constitutional right to possess and smoke,\u201d DeSantis asserted before turning to the proposal\u2019s three-ounce limit on marijuana possession.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s up to like, what, 40 joints? Is that the what the three ounces would be, 40\u2014more than that? Eighty joints, something like that,\u201d the governor said. \u201cIt will be bad for quality of life, and it will make Florida more blue.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeSantis urged the assembled Florida Republicans to oppose the marijuana measure and a separate constitutional amendment that would expand legal access to abortion. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to be united as Republicans and do what\u2019s right,\u201d he said at the event, first reported by Florida Politics<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Florida Republican Party formally came out against Amendment 3<\/a> in May.<\/p>\n DeSantis claimed the marijuana legalization measure would establish \u201ca broader constitutional right than your First Amendment rights to speech, free exercise of religion and assembly, broader than the Second Amendment, broader than any other constitutional right.\u201d<\/p>\n He warned the reform would allow open consumption even in privately owned restaurants.<\/p>\n \u201cI think you\u2019re talking about going downtown somewhere, going to restaurants, all this\u2014you are going to see this,\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cAnd law enforcement\u2019s not going to want to police it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had some restaurant guys [say], \u2018Well, I won\u2019t let them use it in my restaurant,’\u201d the governor continued. \u201cWell, I\u2019m not sure you\u2019re going to be able to do that, given how broad it is.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis also repeated a complaint he\u2019s often made about other legal states: The smell of marijuana is inescapable.<\/p>\n \u201cYou go to places like Denver. It smells like marijuana,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cIt\u2019s not been good for quality of life. So that\u2019s just the reality. We\u2019ve seen in in practice in a lot of places. It hasn\u2019t delivered what they said it would deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n While DeSantis said he understands that not everyone feels the same about marijuana legalization, \u201cI\u2019m not for it,\u201d he opined. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s good to do. I don\u2019t think we need to mess up the state. We\u2019ve got great tourism, all this stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n He also criticized the corporate backing of the proposed marijuana amendment, noting that the campaign is overwhelmingly funded by a single company, Trulieve, which has donated millions to the legalization effort.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is being driven by one company from Canada, and they came into Florida for medical [marijuana],\u201d DeSantis said, apparently referring to Trulieve.<\/p>\n Florida farmers \u201cwill not be allowed to\u201d grow marijuana, he said, alleging the proposal\u2019s backers \u201care basically putting corporate protectionism into the constitution to protect them so they get to sell it all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, how ridiculous is this,\u201d the governor complained, \u201cthat we would let our constitution basically be rent-seeking for some Canadian marijuana company. I mean, give me a break.\u201d<\/p>\n A spokesperson for Trulieve called DeSantis\u2019s claims that the company is Canadian \u201ccompletely and totally untrue.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrulieve was founded in Florida by native Floridians almost 10 years ago and has grown from a startup to an industry leader, creating thousands of jobs in Florida and serving hundreds of thousands of customers in Florida,\u201d Steve Vancore told Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n Vancore further called it \u201cabsolutely untrue\u201d that the proposal would create, in the governor\u2019s word\u2019s, \u201ca limitless constitutional right to possess and smoke.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe clear terms and limits are outlined in the actual ballot language including the ability of Florida lawmakers to enact restrictions on when and where someone can smoke,\u201d he said in an email. \u201cBoth the actual language of the amendment and the rest of the Florida Constitution clearly and unequivocally give Florida lawmakers to do the same thing they currently do for alcohol and tobacco consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis in his remarks urged voters to reject the marijuana- and abortion-related ballot measures, saying they would be detrimental to the state. \u201cWhen you get back to your counties, you work your local parties, get engaged in those amendments,\u201d he said. \u201cA lot of voters don\u2019t pay close attention to this.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, news broke that DeSantis\u2019s so-called \u201cFlorida Freedom Fund\u201d received a $100,000 donation from the cannabis company group POB Ventures in order to help defeat the marijuana and abortion proposals. That amount was nearly ten times what the campaign had raised in total at the beginning of July<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with Marijuana Moment<\/a>, the CEO of POB Ventures, Patrick O\u2019Brien, said he\u2019s not against adult-use cannabis legalization in principle\u2014but is instead troubled by the specific language of the ballot initiative because it provides an option, rather than a mandate, for regulators to approve additional licenses.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look very closely at the writing, they just messed up\u2014and it was with full intent to mess this up,\u201d O\u2019Brien, who also runs the education platform Sativa University and the cannabis product company Chronic Guru, argued. \u201cAll they had to do was make a simple change from \u2018may\u2019 issue more licenses to \u2018must\u2019 issue more licenses, and we would have had a recreational market.\u201d<\/p>\n By giving regulators that licensing discretion, the measure could effectively kneecap prospective businesses outside of the existing medical cannabis space, he claimed.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s been criticism of the major contribution to the DeSantis PAC, which O\u2019Brien says he will continue to support beyond the initial donation.<\/p>\n Suspicions about the motivations behind the contribution to DeSantis\u2019s PAC aren\u2019t likely to dissolve, especially amid new\u00a0reporting\u00a0from CBS News Miami that unnamed hemp businesses have joined forces to back DeSantis in his fight against the legalization measure, with a pledge to contribute $5 million collectively to the state Republican Party after the governor vetoed the bill that ostensibly would have wiped out the market by\u00a0banning most consumable cannabinoid products<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been previously reported that the governor is hoping to garner\u00a0support for his efforts to defeat the marijuana legalization initiative from the state\u2019s hemp industry<\/a>. DeSantis seemed to concede last month that his veto of a bill to ban most consumable hemp-derived cannabinoids was at least partly because\u00a0he hoped the market would aid in his anti-legalization campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n The DeSantis campaign committee, even with the recent contributions, is still miles behind the legalization campaign, Smart & Safe Florida, in terms of fundraising. The legalization effort has raised over $60 million since launching in late 2022.<\/p>\n DeSantis has been\u00a0railing against the marijuana measure for months<\/a>\u2014most recently arguing that it would protect the right to use cannabis more strongly than the First Amendment protects free speech or the Second Amendment protects gun rights\u2014and again claiming that the reform has been a \u201cfailed experiment\u201d in states such as Colorado.<\/p>\n The governor said last month that the proposal would allow people to \u201cdo marijuana wherever you want\u2014just smoke it, take it, and it would turn Florida into San Francisco or Chicago or some of these places.\u201d<\/p>\n He also reprised one of his chief complaints about the potential impact of legalization<\/a>: smelling cannabis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to keep our streets clean. We cannot have every town smelling like marijuana. We cannot have every hotel smelling\u2014theme parks,\u201d he said, adding that voters don\u2019t really understand the specifics of the legalization proposal and that ballot initiatives are generally \u201cso bogus.\u201d<\/p>\n DeSantis acknowledged that the state Supreme Court has a role in reviewing ballot language for constitutionality, and that a majority of justices determined that the marijuana measure met the legal standard. But while\u00a0he previously correctly predicted the court would approve the initiative<\/a>\u00a0following a challenge from state Attorney General Ashley Moody (R), he now says the two dissenting justices were \u201ccorrect\u201d in trying to block voters from deciding on the measure.<\/p>\n DeSantis also claimed last month that that if voters approve the marijuana legalization initiative,\u00a0people \u201cwill be able to bring 20 joints to an elementary school\u201d<\/a>\u2014and he again complained about the prevalent odor of cannabis that he says would result from the reform.<\/p>\n Legalization has \u201cnot worked in any single place,\u201d the governor said, and he\u00a0challenged a recent ad from the campaign that promoted<\/a>\u00a0regulating cannabis as an alternative to the status quo of people using untested cannabis from illicit sellers.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, according to a Fox News poll released last month,\u00a0two in three Florida voters support the cannabis initiative<\/a>\u2014with the issue proving more popular than the governor himself. The survey showed majority support for legalization across the political spectrum, too.<\/p>\n The governor has consistently argued that\u00a0the state shouldn\u2019t go beyond the existing medical cannabis program<\/a>\u00a0and that broader reform would negatively impact the quality of life for Floridians. The Florida Republican Party also\u00a0formally came out against Amendment 3 last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n Smart & Safe Florida separately announced in March that it was\u00a0working to form a coalition of veterans<\/a>\u00a0to build voter support for the reform, and the campaign\u00a0has since formally launched that initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish:<\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full text of the ballot title and summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAllows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise; allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Establishes possession limits for personal use. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.\u201d<\/p>\n Economic analysts from the Florida legislature and DeSantis\u2019s office, estimate that the marijuana legalization initiative would\u00a0generate between $195.6 million and $431.3 million<\/a>\u00a0in new sales tax revenue annually if voters enact it. Those figures could increase considerably if lawmakers opted to impose an additional excise tax on cannabis transactions that\u2019s similar to the ones in place in other legalized states.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Unlike the governor, U.S. Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) said in April that\u00a0he does believe Florida voters will approve the legalization initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n This story has been updated to add comments from a Trulieve spokesperson.<\/em><\/p>\n DOJ Doubles Down On Claim That Medical Marijuana Patients \u2018Endanger Public Safety\u2019 If They Own Guns<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/div>\n The post DeSantis Rails Against Florida Marijuana Ballot Measure In Republican National Convention Speech<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) on Wednesday again lashed out against Amendment 3, a marijuana legalization initiative that\u2019s set to appear on his state\u2019s November ballot, making hyperbolic claims about what the reform would allow\u2014claims backers say are \u201cabsolutely untrue.\u201d Speaking to the Florida Republican delegation at the Republican NationalContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76874,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76873\/revisions\/76874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: DeSantis Rails Against Florida Marijuana Ballot Measure In Republican National Convention Speech<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"