Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump said in a social media post this morning that he supports a referendum in Florida to legalize marijuana for recreational use by adults, but that the state legislature would need to pass a law banning public use.
Trump, a Florida resident, has been hinting for weeks that he will announce his position on Proposition 3, which will be submitted to Florida voters in November. In a post on Truth Social this morning, Trump wrote: Written:
In Florida, the 3rd Amendment will legalize marijuana for personal use by adults, as it has in many other states that have already approved it. Whether people like it or not, this is done by voter approval, so it needs to be done right. We need the state legislature to be responsible and enact laws to prohibit use in public places, so that we don’t smell marijuana everywhere we go, like in many Democrat-run cities. At the same time, we shouldn’t be criminalizing it in Florida when it’s legal in many other states. We don’t need to ruin people’s lives and waste taxpayer money by arresting adults for possession of personal marijuana. And no one should have to mourn the death of a loved one from fentanyl-laced marijuana. We’ll make America a safe place again!
Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana, allowing adults 21 and older to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and five grams of concentrated THC.
Initially, only businesses that already have medical marijuana licenses would be allowed to sell recreational marijuana, but Congress would be free to create its own regulatory system. The bill would not allow home cultivation or expunge past marijuana convictions.
Trump’s post did not directly say he would vote for the bill — seemingly suggesting that passage of Amendment 3 was inevitable — but it is a notable choice from the candidate.
Trump spoke frequently about executing drug traffickers during his campaign, and as president he has commuted the sentences of several federal drug offenders, arguing that their sentences were unfair.
Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump’s Democratic opponent, was also once skeptical of legalization, but she has softened her stance in line with the current political climate, making her an unlikely supporter of decriminalization alongside Trump.
Trump’s support is also an affront to his former primary opponent, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, who opposes the amendment and has spent significant time and money trying to block it.
“I’ve been to a few cities and there’s this stuff everywhere, the smell, everything,” DeSantis said. said “I don’t want to walk past a store and smell like this. I don’t want the whole hotel to really stink,” he said at a press conference earlier this year.
The Amendment 3 campaign is funded by multi-state marijuana companies that operate medical marijuana dispensaries in Florida, which, if passed, would monopolize the entire recreational marijuana market.
The hemp industry in Florida is closely aligned with the Florida Republican Party. Alliance formed He worked with DeSantis to make sure he wasn’t shut out of the market.
Passage of Amendment 3 is by no means guaranteed: A 60 percent supermajority is needed for any proposed constitutional amendment in Florida to pass.
Florida voters approved an amendment legalizing medical marijuana in 2016, with 71 percent supporting the measure.
