It’s Getting Messy in Florida’s effort to stop weed legalization

All signs are pointing to marijuana becoming legal in Florida after the election runs its course next week. Because of this, the anti-marijuana crusaders in the state are pulling out all the stops to prevent this from happening.

First, we get a story from a group of bipartisan Senators in Florida who are condemning Desantis for using taxpayer money to create ads against the amendment. Multiple state agencies have created ads that are against marijuana legalization. Using tax funds to fun political beliefs is a misdemeanor in the state of Florida.

Senator Jason Pizzo, a democrat in the state, came out against the actions, saying “We’re now seeing upwards of $50 million that we have data to support—$50 million being spent on this ad campaign. I mean, that’s more than half of what we spent…to drive tourism as our largest economic driver for the state. And this is all for the ideology and position of just a few people.”

Next up is news that an organization against the marijuana amendment is paying a number of rightwing influencers to come out against it. Some of these influencers are Jenna Ellis, a former attorney of Trumps, and actor Kevin Sorbo, better known as the Hercules of our childhood.

Their arguments stem from home cultivation not being a part of the amendment (supporters say it was so that the measure wouldn’t be knocked off the ballot) and that it’s all a play for the big corporations to take over the industry in Florida before small growers even get a chance. It’s honestly not a horrible point to make, but it certainly seems like a modification that could come down the road once legalization is accomplished.

I’ve seen a LOT of people ask on Amendment 3, 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵? If you don’t want to smoke marijuana, just don’t.

𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽.

Learn more at https://t.co/scb7BJ5ooy #VoteNoOn3 #NoOn3Partner… pic.twitter.com/lAz99MJa07

— Jenna Ellis 🐊 (@realJennaEllis) October 25, 2024