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As a new poll again shows majority support for a Florida marijuana legalization ballot initiative\u2014and the campaign behind the measure rolls out a new ad featuring a law enforcement official endorsing the proposal\u2014Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is continuing to beat the drum in opposition to the reform.<\/p>\n
The latest survey from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which is against the cannabis initiative, found that 59 percent of likely voters in the state back Amendment 3. That\u2019d put it just short of the required 60 percent threshold to pass a constitutional amendment at the ballot under state law, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe lack of movement in support from Floridians over the past year comes despite more than $75 million being raised to promote this amendment, over $70 million of which has come from Florida\u2019s largest medicinal marijuana provider [Trulieve],\u201d the chamber said<\/a>. \u201cThis failure to build momentum for the amendment displays that the concerns about Amendment 3 raised by Governor DeSantis and others are resonating with many Floridians.\u201d<\/p>\n The organization didn\u2019t release the specific questions voters were asked in the survey, which involved interviews with 600 likely voters from August 15-26 and has a +\/-4 percentage point margin of error. But other recent polling signals that the measure does have enough support to reach the 60 percent threshold, including one from the James Madison Institute (JMI) that was released late last month showing 64 percent of likely voters in Florida are in favor of the legalization proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n Despite spending $9M on TV ads, support for Amendment 3 is dropping. The corporate weed giant Trulieve has poured $70M into pushing this corporate greed scheme, but Floridians aren’t buying it. No matter how much they spin it, Amendment 3 is all about profits, not people.\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/Kgxuc1r1RI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Vote No on 3 (@VoteNo_On3) August 30, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Despite those numbers\u2014as well as former President Donald Trump\u2019s newly announced tacit support for Amendment 3\u2014Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has not relented in his efforts to convince voters to vote against the measure.<\/p>\n On Monday, the governor responded to a tweet from Florida Sen. Jonathan Martin (R), who voiced concerns about the initiative language, arguing that it would only allow for restrictions on public smoking of medical, versus recreational, marijuana.<\/p>\n \u201cSen. Martin is correct. His observation is clear in the text of the actual amendment (which is not included on the ballot and which 99% of voters will never read),\u201d DeSantis said. \u201cFlorida\u2019s constitution, if amendment 3 passes, will provide for regulating the use of *medical* marijuana in public, but not *recreational* marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Martin is correct. <\/p>\n His observation is clear in the text of the actual amendment (which is not included on the ballot and which 99% of voters will never read).<\/p>\n Florida\u2019s constitution, if amendment 3 passes, will provide for regulating the use of *medical* marijuana in\u2026 https:\/\/t.co\/bnp5W2iamo<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Trump similarly talked about his own concerns with public cannabis consumption, though he predicted the measure would pass, saying, \u201cWhether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities,\u201d he added. \u201cAt the same time, someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States. We do not need to ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign Smart & Safe Florida has strongly contested claims that the proposed policy change would tie the hands of lawmakers to set regulations for adult-use cannabis, including public consumption restrictions.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let the prohibitionists scare you. With #YesOn3, the Legislature has EVERY right to enact public consumption laws. Just like they already do with alcohol and tobacco,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n Don’t let the prohibitionists scare you. With #YesOn3<\/a>, the Legislature has EVERY right to enact public consumption laws. Just like they already do with alcohol and tobacco. pic.twitter.com\/L4FacFUHU5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Smart & Safe Florida (@SmartandSafeFl) September 3, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The campaign also launched a site in an effort to clear up misconceptions about the reform measure.<\/p>\n ICYMI \u2013 We\u2019ve launched a new website to clear the air on Amendment 3 and give you the FACTS! Click here to learn more: https:\/\/t.co\/IABykCHad6<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hej9ZFUWCf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Smart & Safe Florida (@SmartandSafeFl) September 2, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Trump\u2019s recent comments followed meetings with a GOP Florida senator and the CEO of the primary financial backer of the initiative<\/a>, Trulieve\u2019s Kim Rivers, Marijuana Moment learned.<\/p>\n In more recent comments published on Tuesday, Trump said medical marijuana has been \u201cabsolutely amazing\u201d for patients, and that\u00a0the Florida legalization initiative is \u201cgoing to be very good\u201d for the state<\/a>\u00a0after it passes, which he expects to happen.<\/p>\n Amid these developments, the campaign Smart & Safe Florida released an ad this past week featuring a 30-year law enforcement veteran Tim Hightower.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve spent my life keeping Florida safe for generations we fought a war on drugs and lost,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cOn marijuana, it\u2019s time for a new approach.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAmendment 3 allows responsible adults to buy safe, regulated, lab-tested marijuana from a store instead of the streets, allowing law enforcement to focus on serious crimes while providing the funding they need,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s time for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n Separately, longtime ally and GOP political operative Roger Stone, who is also a Florida resident and supports the legalization proposal, separately told Marijuana Moment that if Trump did ultimately endorse the measure it would \u201cguarantee victory.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Meanwhile, following Trump\u2019s recent\u00a0announcement of support for the cannabis legalization ballot measure in Florida<\/a>, the campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris started working to remind voters that while in office, Trump \u201ctook marijuana reform backwards.\u201d<\/p>\n In an memo from a senior campaign spokesperson, the Harris campaign accused Trump of \u201cbrazen flip flops\u201d on cannabis. The Democratic campaign says it\u2019s one of the Republican former president\u2019s \u201cseveral bewildering \u2018policy proposals\u2019 that deserve real scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who is sponsoring a bill to federally legalize marijuana called the States Reform Act, separately said that while\u00a0she hopes Trump will back the Biden administration\u2019s rescheduling move<\/a>, she also said part of the reason Republicans in Congress have declined to embrace marijuana policy change is because they\u2019re \u201cafraid of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Trump also recently\u00a0went after Harris over her prosecutorial record on marijuana<\/a>, claiming that she put \u201cthousands and thousands of Black people in jail\u201d for cannabis offenses\u2014but the full record of her time in office is more nuanced.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s line of attack, while misleading, was nonetheless notable in the sense that the GOP presidential nominee implied that he disagrees with criminalizing people over marijuana and is moving to leverage the idea that Harris played a role in racially disproportionate mass incarceration.<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as her running mate<\/a>, choosing a candidate who backed numerous cannabis reform measures in Congress, called for an end to prohibition when he was running for governor and then signed a comprehensive legalization bill into law in 2023.<\/p>\n As president, Trump largely stayed true to his position that marijuana laws should be handled at the state-level, with no major crackdown on cannabis programs as some feared after then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama era federal enforcement guidance. In fact, Trump\u00a0criticized the top DOJ official and suggested the move should be reversed<\/a>.<\/p>\n While he was largely silent on the issue of legalization, he did tentatively endorse a bipartisan bill to\u00a0codify federal policy respecting states\u2019 rights to legalize<\/a>.<\/p>\n That said, on several occasions he released signing statements on spending legislation stipulating that he\u00a0reserved the right to ignore a long-standing rider<\/a>\u00a0that prohibits the Justice Department from\u00a0using its funds to interfere with state-legal medical marijuana programs<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before President Joe Biden bowed out of the race, his campaign made much of the president\u2019s mass cannabis pardons and rescheduling push,\u00a0drawing a contrast with the Trump administration\u2019s record<\/a>. The Harris campaign so far has not spoken to that particular issue, and the nominee has yet to publicly discuss marijuana policy issues since her own campaign launched.<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile, a Democratic congresswoman who recently said she was\u00a0on the fence about whether she\u2019d vote for the legalization ballot initiative<\/a>\u00a0this November\u00a0has officially given the measure her endorsement<\/a>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been a mixed bag of feedback on Amendment 3 from members of Florida\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n One pro-legalization GOP congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), recently said he intends to vote against it,\u00a0strictly because he feels the reform should be enacted statutorily<\/a>, rather than as a constitutional amendment that would prove more challenging to amend.<\/p>\n On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus,\u00a0predicted earlier this year that the measure will pass<\/a>.<\/p>\n Idaho Activists Prepare Marijuana Legalization Initiative For 2026 After Falling Short With Recent Medical Cannabis Attempts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post DeSantis Continues To Push Against Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Despite Trump\u2019s Support And New Polling<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
As a new poll again shows majority support for a Florida marijuana legalization ballot initiative\u2014and the campaign behind the measure rolls out a new ad featuring a law enforcement official endorsing the proposal\u2014Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is continuing to beat the drum in opposition to the reform. The latest surveyContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":77680,"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\/77679"}],"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=77679"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77679\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":77681,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/77679\/revisions\/77681"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/77680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=77679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=77679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=77679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: DeSantis Continues To Push Against Florida Marijuana Legalization Initiative Despite Trump\u2019s Support And New Polling<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"