Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Friday alongside Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo to urge Floridians to do research on the state’s upcoming ballot measure for Amendment 3 — the Marijuana Legalization Initiative.
Urging citizens to vote against the measure, which would make it legal for adults 21 and older to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana and up to 5 grams of cannabis concentrate, DeSantis said the the legalization of marijuana under Florida’s Constitution as worded would act as a “farce” to increase corporate earnings for largescale marijuana distributors at the expense of the state’s residents.
Florida law already allows for the use of medical marijuana for adults for medical purposes.
“If the CEO of a company just wrote an amendment to be good for Florida, and it wasn’t maximizing the company’s profits, that would be a violation of the fiduciary duty,” the governor said. “The whole purpose of this amendment is to create and protect a certain business model at the expense of what is good policy for the people of Florida.”
DeSantis referenced the text of the proposed amendment, which states only state licensed entities or medical marijuana treatment centers are allowed to cultivate, process, manufacture and sell marijuana, and said the amendment would keep all entities from any civil or criminal liability under state law.
“They are giving themselves, the weed companies, total immunity from any civil liability,” DeSantis said during the press conference. “What does that mean? If they sell you defective weed and you have a seizure or something, can you sue them? No, there’s no exception to this.”
DeSantis also argued the proposal is not truly about freedom since state licensed entities will hold the sole ability to manufacture, grow and sell marijuana, citing the push by a “major marijuana company” that’s donated tens of millions of dollars to the amendment’s sponsor Smart and Safe Florida.
According to financial disclosures tracked by Washington D.C. nonprofit OpenSecrets, George Hackney Inc., a marijuana and cannabis dispensary that does business under the name Trulieve, has been the top donor for Smart and Safe Florida, giving over $72 million in 2024.
As of Oct. 11, campaign finance records show Trulieve has spent nearly $92.5 million trying to get Amendment 3 passed.
The second top donor is Verano Holdings LLC, which donated $3.5 million in 2024.
“You may not be interested in weed, but it’s going to be interested in you,” DeSantis said. “This will impact your life because of how this amendment is written and how it’s going to be rampantly used in public.”
To pass, the measure needs at least 60% support from voters. If approved, it would take effect May 5, 2025.
Alongside DeSantis at the press conference was Escambia County Chip Simmons, who said the amendment wouldn’t “free up” law enforcement to do other things than investigate and arrest citizens for personal sized marijuana known as “small” marijuana.
“Small marijuana is not a priority here at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office,” Simmons said. “We do not spend an inordinate amount of time stopping people for marijuana, in fact, none of our K-9s are trained to alert on marijuana.”
Simmons did say the passage of the amendment could present a problem when it comes to children accessing marijuana or marijuana gummies through an adult’s legal possession of the substance, leading to more callouts if children face adverse reactions to marijuana.
“They don’t have to look like bears or stars, (children) just think it looks like candy,” he said. “This is a problem for us, it’s a problem for you, it’s a problem for the community.
“I’ve spoken to many, many law enforcement professional in Colorado and in California where we have conferences, and we all ask, ‘We have this on the (ballot). What do you think?'” Simmons said. “All of them shake their head no. Do not let it happen. None of them say that passage of this type of amendment makes your community better.”
Here’s a look at the full Amendment 3 text:
DeSantis joins Escambia sheriff in Pensacola to push back against Amendment 3 – Pensacola News Journal
