Do You Support Trump’s Stance on Legalizing Recreational Marijuana?

Do You Support Trump’s Stance on Legalizing Recreational Marijuana?

Here’s The Scoop

Former President Donald Trump has thrown his support behind a controversial Florida ballot initiative to legalize marijuana, setting up a clash with the state’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, who staunchly opposes the measure.

Trump took to Truth Social late Sunday to endorse Florida Amendment 3, a proposal that would permit companies already licensed to produce medical marijuana to sell it for recreational use.

This endorsement came just hours after Governor DeSantis addressed a crowd of about 200 people at a church in Tallahassee, warning that the amendment would essentially create a legal “drug cartel” in Florida and lead to widespread public use of marijuana.

“Public use of this will be rampant,” DeSantis cautioned. “You can’t point to a state that is better off for doing it.”

The campaign backing the amendment has amassed over $80 million in cash, primarily from Trulieve, the largest medical marijuana company in the state. If Amendment 3 passes, Trulieve would be among a select few companies authorized to sell recreational marijuana. The measure requires at least 60% voter approval to be enacted.

“They’re creating in Florida’s constitution a drug cartel,” DeSantis emphasized. “And they’ll have no liability with the cultivation and sale of marijuana.”

Recent studies have raised concerns about cannabis use, linking it to heart disease, stroke, and various mental health issues. Additionally, about 22% of marijuana users develop cannabis use disorder, meaning they struggle to stop using the substance even when it causes social or health problems, according to a 2020 study.

“As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock medical uses of marijuana to a schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws.”

Trump also argued that it’s time to end the “needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use.” However, DeSantis countered that nobody in Florida is serving prison time for mere possession of marijuana.

This is not the first time Trump and DeSantis have found themselves at odds. They recently clashed over Florida’s abortion law, which bans abortions once an unborn child has a detectable heartbeat, usually around six weeks of pregnancy. While signing the law was a priority for DeSantis, Trump has criticized it as too restrictive.

DeSantis also ran an unsuccessful primary campaign against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, adding another layer to their ongoing rivalry.

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