Just hours after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned hundreds of churchgoers that the plan would establish an unstoppable drug cartel in their home state, Donald Trump announced his support for easing federal marijuana restrictions and his intention to cast a ballot in favor of legalizing the drug for adults.
The measure to legalize marijuana will be on the November ballot under the name Amendment 3, and Trump has previously shown his support for it in a Truth Social post from late August. In a second message published late Sunday, the former president and Republican presidential candidate gave it his full endorsement. While he did not directly endorse federal decriminalization, Trump did show support for reclassifying marijuana under federal prohibition, legalizing the drug at the state level, reforming banking for cannabis businesses under state regulation, and allowing states to adopt their own legalization legislation.
During the next November election, Trump expressed his intention to vote in favor of Amendment 3 as a Floridian in his Sunday Truth post. According to the president, “as president, I will work with Congress to pass common sense laws and continue to focus on research to unlock medical uses of marijuana to a schedule 3 drug.”
In an August social media post, Trump had mixed feelings about Amendment 3, a ballot initiative that would legalize recreational marijuana sales by the state’s medicinal marijuana business and enable those aged 21 and up to use it. His most recent article echoes the sentiments of those who believe that the drug should be regulated by state politicians to ensure that it does not negatively affect neighborhoods due to its presence or fragrance.
Trump also mentioned Amendment 3 in his August post, where he claimed it would halt “needless” arrests for marijuana-related offenses.
About four hours prior to Trump’s statement, DeSantis addressed a congregation of 200 in a Tallahassee church, claiming that Amendment 3 was an attempt by a single Florida marijuana corporation to establish a drug cartel with constitutional support. Despite assertions that Amendment 3 would prevent individuals from being jailed for simple marijuana possession, DeSantis informed the congregation at the Baptist-based City Church that no one is currently serving time in a Florida prison for such a charge, as he had won the office in 2018 with the support of Trump’s endorsement.
Also, according to DeSantis, Amendment 3 would legalize possessing enough marijuana to light up several joints and enjoy them wherever one pleases. He argued that states like Colorado, which has decriminalized marijuana for recreational use, have not done enough to limit where people can smoke it.
“This will be widely used by the public,” DeSantis stated. “No state benefits more than any other because of it.”
When asked about his position on marijuana legalization, Trump has always avoided taking a firm stand. He suggested that each state should decide on the matter independently at the 2020 election. As attorney general, he chose Jeff Sessions, a renowned opponent of marijuana legalization who had hinted at intentions to start tightening down on enforcement of the federally prohibited narcotic but never followed through.
With Tim Walz and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrats have the most pro-weed presidential ticket ever, and Trump is endorsing Amendment 3 at the same time. In the meantime, JD Vance, who is running as Trump’s running mate, has stated his opposition to legalizing marijuana but his support for states’ rights over the matter.
Both Harris and Walz, in their respective roles as senator and governor of Minnesota, have spoken out in favor of federal legalization and the creation of a controlled, taxed market for adults. Before Tuesday’s debate, Trump and Harris had narrowed their differences in view on cannabis; Trump now backs reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III.
By aligning with federal policy, Trump allays some of the fears of pro-cannabis supporters who were worried that the Biden administration’s plan to reschedule cannabis, which would continue even after the election, would be able to proceed.
In October 2022, Biden ordered federal agencies to investigate the legal status of marijuana based on scientific evidence. A recommendation to transfer marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act was made in August by the Department of Health and Human Services. This change would facilitate scientific study and lead to tax reductions for cannabis enterprises. Whether or if that actually occurs is ultimately up to the DEA, but the agency is generally believed to accept the suggestion.
A crackdown on state-legal markets did not follow the previous Trump administration’s reversal of Obama’s hands-off approach toward state-regulated markets for marijuana.
Declining cannabis to Schedule III has the endorsement of both main party candidates. Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform co-chair Adam Goers said in a statement that there should be no further delay.
Amendment 3, which seeks to increase abortion rights, and Amendment 4, another high-profile initiative, are also up for vote in Florida, where Trump is registered to vote. Even while Trump has already stated that he will not support Amendment 4, he was quite critical of DeSantis’s biggest priority—the state’s ban on abortions after six weeks of pregnancy—when it was passed.
In the past, Trump has also made contradictory claims on his position on abortion rights. Even though he was under pressure from inside his party, he chose not to support a nationwide ban on abortion and instead said that states should decide on their own abortion restrictions.
In contrast, DeSantis has spoken out strongly against both of these Florida ballot initiatives. He began attacking the movement to legalize and constitutionally protect abortion earlier this year with the formation of the Florida Freedom Fund, a political committee. In July, he was also instrumental in launching the “No on 3” movement.
To pass, Amendment 3 needs 60 percent of the vote, which means it will need a lot of support from Republicans. Trulieve, headquartered in Tallahassee and the biggest medical marijuana company in the state, contributed nearly all of the over $80 million in funding that the measure’s campaign has raised. With this bill, Trulieve and twenty other state-licensed weed producers may enter the recreational market, but the GOP-controlled state legislature would be free to decide how to expand the industry in the future.
Since Amendment 3 would give Trulieve and other medical pot licensees control of the market, DeSantis suggested that not even marijuana supporters should vote for it. To benefit the state’s $2 billion medicinal marijuana business, this year’s law is structured differently from earlier attempts to legalize marijuana, which allowed individuals to cultivate a certain number of plants at home.
“They’re establishing a drug cartel in Florida’s constitution,” remarked DeSantis. The cultivation and sale of marijuana will absolve them of any liability.
Trump vs. DeSantis: Florida Pot Legalization Battle Heats Up…
