Two major Florida law enforcement associations are calling on voters to reject a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot this November, with one claiming it would pose a public safety risk because cannabis use is associated with \u201cviolent assaults and deaths\u201d just like alcohol.<\/p>\n
The Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) and the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) both came out against the marijuana measure, Amendment 3, on Tuesday. They argued that the reform would cause increases in youth use, impaired driving, illicit operations and tax costs for residents, citing dubious evidence.<\/p>\n
The chief of FPCA, representing over 1,300 law enforcement officials, said in a press release that passing the cannabis proposal \u201cwill hurt public safety and ultimately cost Floridians tax dollars and lives. Among these impacts will be the growth of illegal markets and criminal cartels, impaired driving and traffic fatalities, homelessness and hospitalization as a result of marijuana use.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of marijuana, just like with alcohol, is also a major risk factor for victimization, violent assaults, and deaths,\u201d Tampa International Airport Police Department Chief Charles Vazquez, the organization\u2019s leader, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cStudies have shown alcohol and marijuana in similar percentages of homicide victims (37.5 percent and 31 percent respectively), with the prevalence of marijuana highest in younger victims (15-20 years, 46.8 percent),\u201d he said. \u201cIn addition, Black homicide victims had a considerably higher prevalence of marijuana (38 percent) than white victims (23.4 percent).\u201d<\/p>\n
The statement did not include citations, but a growing body of research has drawn clear distinctions challenging the idea that rates of violence associated with cannabis use are comparable to alcohol. For example, an analysis of violence between intimate partners that was published recently found that legalizing marijuana for adult use \u201cresults in a substantial decrease in rates of intimate partner violence<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Amendment 3 is big business for some, bad business for public safety. FPCA is opposed \u2013 https:\/\/t.co\/MYTYaKo5Dn<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Florida Police Chiefs Association (@FloridaChiefs) July 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n \u201cIn closing, keeping Florida, its citizens, and its visitors safe is our highest priority. Advocates would have you believe that recreational marijuana is no big deal. It is in fact a big deal to the many who will profit from it, including criminal organizations,\u201d Vazquez said<\/a>. \u201cThere is no doubt based on the experiences of other states, that recreational 2 marijuana will in fact have a negative public safety impact in Florida. Our business is keeping people and communities safe, so we stand in strong opposition to this amendment and to those organizations that think it is \u2018no big deal.’\u201d<\/p>\n FSA, meanwhile, formally passed a resolution at its Sheriffs Summer Conference last week to oppose the legalization initiative.<\/p>\n The resolution claims that state cannabis legalization has \u201cspurred the growth of a provide-driven marijuana industry that has pursued its profits ahead of public health,\u201d and the campaign to enact the reform in Florida is \u201ccontrary to the interests of the public health, safety, and welfare, and desires to preserve the rights of citizens to live and work in a community where drug use is not normalized and citizens are not subjected to the adverse effects of drug misuse.\u201d<\/p>\n Florida Sheriffs Association President and Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement that the \u201cwell-being and health of the citizens of Florida are threatened through the legalization and normalization of recreational marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur priority is the safety and security of our communities, and the data clearly shows that legalization leads to increased public health issues, road safety concerns, and a rise in youth marijuana use,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cWe must take a stand to protect our citizens, especially our youth, from the negative impacts of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n FSA Immediate Past President and Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper added that \u201cthe legalization of recreational marijuana prioritizes the interests of the marijuana industry over the health and safety of every Floridian, because we have seen the impact on our youth, on our roadways, within the illicit market, within the healthcare industry and more.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBy opposing the legalization and commercialization of recreational marijuana, we are committed to safeguarding our citizens from various potential harms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The law enforcement statements came on the same day that the University of North Florida (UNF) released a new poll finding that 64 percent of likely voters back the cannabis reform measure<\/a>, surpassing the 60 percent threshold required for enacting a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n Polling on the Florida initiative has consistently found majority support, though not all of the surveys have shown it reaching the steep 60 percent minimum for passage in the state. This latest poll, coming less than 100 days from Election Day, is therefore an encouraging sign for advocates.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, one opposition campaign, Vote No On 3, also recently commissioned a poll on the measure that similarly found 64 percent of voters in favor of the reform<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) again lashed out against Amendment 3<\/a>\u00a0at the Republican National Convention, making hyperbolic claims about what the reform would allow\u2014claims backers say are \u201cabsolutely untrue.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 Speaking at a recent police event,\u00a0DeSantis falsely claimed that most Colorado voters \u201cregret\u201d approving marijuana legalization<\/a>. In fact, recent polling shows that the reform continues to enjoy strong support there.<\/p>\n The Florida Republican Party, meanwhile,\u00a0formally came out against Amendment 3<\/a>\u00a0in May.<\/p>\n Also recently, 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\u00a0exclusive 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 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\u00a0one 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 Trump Claims Harris Jailed \u2018Thousands And Thousands Of Black People\u2019 Over Marijuana, But Her Actual Record As A Prosecutor Is More Nuanced<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<\/div>\n The post Florida Police Groups Oppose Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, Claiming Reform Would Cause \u2018Violent Assaults And Death\u2019 Like Alcohol<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Two major Florida law enforcement associations are calling on voters to reject a marijuana legalization initiative on the ballot this November, with one claiming it would pose a public safety risk because cannabis use is associated with \u201cviolent assaults and deaths\u201d just like alcohol. The Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA)Continue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77112"}],"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\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=77112"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77113,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77112\/revisions\/77113"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Florida Police Groups Oppose Marijuana Legalization Ballot Initiative, Claiming Reform Would Cause \u2018Violent Assaults And Death\u2019 Like Alcohol<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"