TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Legalizing recreational marijuana for adults could mean big bucks for Florida.
The group backing the effort on the November ballot touted the expected financial impact while in Tampa Thursday. That’s as Florida’s governor fights back, saying the idea stinks — literally.
Bankrolled by several cannabis companies, Smart & Safe Florida is the campaign behind Amendment Three, which would legalize recreational marijuana for those 21 and older in the state. During a roundtable in Hyde Park, their supporters noted Florida and local governments could see a windfall of new sales tax revenue. They cited a report from Florida economists, who estimated between $195 million to $431 million annually.
It’s money, the group said, that could be used for anything and everything, as Florida faces an affordability crisis.
“There's a lot of need,” said Sean Shaw, an attorney in Hillsborough County. “There's infrastructure need, there's education need, there's behavioral studies need, there's mental health funding, there's juvenile justice issues.”
While Shaw is a former Democratic state lawmaker, the gathering also featured Republicans. That included Jake Hoffman, a business owner and executive director of Tampa Bay Young Republicans.
“If this money is able to offset even just a little bit and put more money back directly into the average Floridian's pockets, then I'm for that,” Hoffman said.
The discussion was just the latest effort to spur voters to say ‘yes’ to Amendment Three come November. That’s as the Smart & Safe campaign launches multi-million dollar ad buys and fundraising campaigns, bringing in $5 million more from April through May. The latest finance reports show about $13.6 million in the bank, most of it still coming from cannabis companies.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is now among those leading the charge to defeat the initiative. His message — change literally smells bad.
“If that marijuana passes, this will smell like marijuana,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday. “Like when you go outside, it will.”
His bigger concern: The ballot language is too broad. That’s despite Amendment Three’s provisions specifically stating lawmakers can craft at least some guardrails.
“The amendment language says that there can be no penalties for use or possession — civil, criminal, anything,” said DeSantis. “You'll be able to, what, bring 20 joints to an elementary school? Is that really going to be good for the state of Florida?”
DeSantis is likely just getting started. He’s already said fighting recreational marijuana and abortion protections are two reasons why he launched a new political committee, the Florida Freedom Fund. While we don’t have cash details yet, DeSantis has proven in the past he knows how to fundraise.
At least 60 percent of Floridians will need to support Amendment Three in November to get approval. The new rules would then take effect six months later.
