(TAMPA) As election day approaches, the conversation about Amendment 3 in Florida is heating up. If this amendment is approved by voters, it would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21. According to the proposed ballot, “an individual’s possession of marijuana for personal use shall not exceed 3.0 ounces of marijuana except that not more than five grams of marijuana may be in the form of concentrate.” While some Floridians are excited about the potential change, others have serious concerns about what this could mean for our state.
Many folks believe it is about time Florida legalized recreational marijuana. Kaitlyn Wise is a student at the University of South Florida. She is all for it, “I think it has been a long time coming and it should have been made legal a long time ago because there are a lot of benefits.” For Kaitlyn and others their reason for backing this amendment is hard to ignore, they believe that there would be more funding for Florida schools, new job opportunities, and with the product being regulated, they can argue that marijuana sells would be off the streets.
On the X account Safe & Smart Florida, which is a nonprofit organization based in Tallahassee, there are many posts advocating for Amendment 3. They feature informative posts sharing information about the potential impacts of legalization and they are trying to promote discussions about the amendment. This is one of their posts highlighting some of the main points to this side of the vote.
Those against the Amendment are equally vocal. Governor Ron DeSantis opposes Amendment 3. He strongly has pushed for Floridians to vote “No” on Amendment 3. During one of his recent visits to Fort Myers, the governor said, “Amendment 3 is horribly written and would only benefit the corporation that helped fund the amendment.”
Not only is DeSantis concerned, but some USF students like Liliana Marcus have reservations. “I don’t see why anybody needs to access marijuana unless it’s for medical use. It is a gateway drug, and it shouldn’t be available for everyone.” However, many wonder if future potential regulations will be enough to prevent underage use or prevent people from driving under the influence.
In this ad paid for by the coalition called Vote No On 3, the messaging claims that the passing of this amendment “will harm Florida” and will “turn the state into Colorado and California.” Other ads against the amendment bring up concerns regarding air pollution and quality of life in local neighborhoods that would “smell like weed.” Those against the amendment also raise concerns about proper regulation of marijuana.
As both sides ramp up their efforts to get voters involved, the amendment raises some big questions about personal choices, the health and wellbeing of the public. It also raises concerns about how much control the government should have over substances. Now, it’s up to the voters to decide whether or not Florida joins 24 other states in making the recreational use of marijuana legal.