CAPE CORAL, Fla — Governor Ron Desantis came to Cape Coral to speak out against Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana in Florida. He’s urging voters to take a closer look, focusing on its potential impact on our legal system, economy, and public safety.
Grace Baptist Church was packed as Governor Desantis and his panel laid out their key concerns about Amendment 3. Desantis warned it would hand too much control to the marijuana companies in the state.
Watch my report here...
“You are not allowed to grow your own weed in your back yard and use it - you are only allowed to buy and utilize weed if you purchase it from the big weed cartel that they’d create in this constitutional amendment,” said Desantis.
Desantis also argued the amendment protects companies from liability, saying the language suggests they wouldn’t face criminal or civil penalties for any marijuana operations.
“If they produce defective weed and you have a seizure, are you going to be able to sue them? Not according to this!” said Desantis.
I reached out to Trulieve, a medical marijuana company backing amendment 3. Spokesperson Steve Vancore said licensed dispensaries are still subject to civil lawsuits and tort law protections would remain.
“Every medical marijuana treatment center is being sued in some capacity for defective products. So, you have the right, and you have protection for civil and criminal immunity for growing marijuana. That’s what you need to do to make it legal in this state for adults to consume. But, what it doesn’t do, is if you do it improperly, you enact tort law,” Vancore explained.
Vancore also said the amendment would allow lawmakers to decide if people can grow marijuana at home. “Right now, it’s already illegal in the state of Florida for somebody to grow their own marijuana. This gives the legislature the clear authority to change that,” said Vancore.
Vancore argued legalizing marijuana would get it off the streets, reducing the chance it’s laced with dangerous chemicals like fentanyl. But, Desantis says this “freedom” could impact Floridians who don’t want marijuana dominating public spaces.
“You should have the freedom as a Floridian to live your life without being impacted by marijuana if it’s something you don’t like. You should be able to go to restaurants, into town, to parks, and not have this dominating everywhere like it does in California, Colorado, and New York,” said Desantis.
Ultimately, both Desantis and Vancore urged voters to carefully review the amendment before casting their ballots on November 5th.
