On “Real News with Rick Outzen” this morning, Trulieve CEO Kim Powers discussed Amendment 3, which legalizes recreational marijuana use in Florida by adults 21 years old and older. She also debunked disinformation that opponents have been putting out.
“Amendment 3 is really all about personal freedom. It is about the freedom for adults who are over the age of 21 to be able to make the choice to consume safe, tested marijuana that’s been proven to be a safer alternative to alcohol and the privacy of their own homes,” Powers said.
“Marijuana is not new. It’s been here. We know that in the state of Florida, there’s approximately 3 million Floridians that consume today, about 800,000 of those through the medical program. But those other 2 million Floridians that they have access to product that they can rely on, that it’s not going to get them sick, it’s not going to put them in the hospital or, candidly with what’s going on today with fentanyl and other substances, potentially kill them while also stopping the needless arrests and ruining people’s lives over small amounts of cannabis.”
She added, “And then finally, I would just say it’s an opportunity for us to generate hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue to invest back into our local communities here in the state of Florida.”
- Florida Surgeon Ladapo and Gov. Ron DeSantis have asserted that legalizing marijuana for adults 21 and older would increase teens’ usage of the product. Last week, he recommended health care providers to consider “incorporating routine screening for substance use in pediatric patients, especially in those aged 12 and older.”
In a television interview, the state surgeon general said, “Drugs diminish our ability to be all that we can be, to be representations of God’s love, God’s light, God’s wisdom, God’s care. And you know, frankly, I find that to be a much more compelling reason to avoid policies that encourage the use of drugs, whatever those might be. In this case, we’re talking about marijuana… I wouldn’t even call it moral, because moral implies judgment.”
Powers pointed out that a recent study by Florida Atlantic University (FAU) showed teens and youth have “dramatically” fallen off the use of pot as more states are legalizing cannabis for recreational or medicinal purposes.
- “In 2011, 23.1% of adolescents indicated they were current users, but by 2021, this figure had dropped to 15.8%. Additionally, the percentage of adolescents trying marijuana for the first time before age 13 also saw a notable decline, from 8.1% in 2011 to 4.9% in 2021,” the FAU report on marijuana use found.
“Why is that? It’s because we actually are taking these transactions off of the streets. We’re making our communities safer by removing, again, those marijuana deals from the street corners and putting it into a safe, regulated environment that’s age-gated,” said Powers.
- “So only adults 21 and up can enter the stores, and those products are very specifically regulated with lab results and child-resistant containers – no bright colors and nothing attractive to children. And so what you see in these communities is that actual youth access and youth usage declines over time.”
INWEEKLY ANALYSIS
AMENDMENT 3: ADULT PERSONAL USE OF MARIJUANA
For: Tax revenue from the legal cannabis industry will reach over $4 billion in 2025. No evidence from the 37 states that have legalized marijuana shows that it increased underage consumption in the regulated marketplace. Florida law already bans smoking in public areas, so Gov. DeSantis’ complaint of smelling pot everywhere isn’t valid.
Against: Opponents claim the amendment is misleading, and marijuana is illegal under federal law and will remain illegal even if it passes. They also assert it gives the corporations growing, distributing and selling marijuana a monopoly.
What Your Vote Does: “Yes” legalizes recreational marijuana use in Florida by adults 21 years old and older, allows individuals to possess up to three ounces of marijuana and authorizes existing Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell and distribute marijuana products and accessories. “No” keeps the recreational use of marijuana illegal in Florida and maintains the current regulations for medical use.
Inweekly Recommendation: Vote “Yes.” We have lots of reasons to support this amendment, but one that really matters to us is that it will lead to fewer unnecessary arrests and prosecutions for simple possession of marijuana.
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