Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate for 2024, has reiterated that he will not legalize marijuana should he be elected to the White House. He argues that this is contrary to evidence showing that Colorado’s reform actually increased the size illicit market.
A woman who attended a Saturday campaign event in Iowa told DeSantis she knew people whose kids had developed “cannabis induced psychosis.” She asked if DeSantis would legalize cannabis or reschedule it under federal law, if elected president. The GOP candidate responded by saying that he would “not legalize” , echoing arguments against marijuana he made previously in June.
“I believe that this stuff has become very potent.” DeSantis stated that he believes it is a serious problem when it comes to young people. “It’s different from the stuff people used 30, 40 years ago,” he said. “I believe that when kids use it, it can cause a lot problems. And, of course, now they can add fentanyl to any of these products.”
The candidate then shifted to a wider discussion on the harms caused by substance abuse, saying that there is an “open-air market” for illicit drug use in San Francisco and that society “totally degenerated” because of policies that “really helped these people use drugs.”
DeSantis acknowledged that Floridians had access to medical marijuana under a constitutional amendement that was approved by voters, stating that “we adhere to that”, but also noting that other states “have handled cannabis in a different way” and that he wouldn’t “take action to make it more accessible now.”
Florida voters could have the option to expand access, regardless of what the governor says. The state Supreme Court is evaluating if a marijuana legalization measure will appear on Florida’s ballot in 2024.
DeSantis told reporters on Saturday that he would never do such a thing. “And in places like Colorado and California that have legalized marijuana, the argument was – and it wasn’t crazy – ‘Look, we already know that people will use it.’ It’s a drug. It’s a drug. ‘”
The governor stated that “the black market in Colorado is now bigger and more profitable than before the legalization.” “I don’t believe that legalization has worked.”
DeSantis did not provide any data to back up this argument. Private and government analysis have shown that Colorado’s illicit market has been significantly reduced in the decade following legalization.
A report by Leafly and Whitney Economics, released last year, found that 99 per cent of adult-use marijuana sales in Colorado occur within the regulated industries. This indicates that legalization has effectively shifted people away from the illegal market.
In July, Denver published a document that indicated that local law enforcement had processed a low-record amount of illegal marijuana for 2022. The government cited this report as proof that legalization was largely successful in reducing illicit sales.
DeSantis’s opposition to cannabis legalization–despite recent surveys showing increasing bipartisan support for the reform–is not new. It’s just part of DeSantis’s inconsistent record on cannabis legalization as he tries to keep his position in the Republican presidential race.
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In terms of policy, a bill DeSantis enacted in Florida that went into effect last month increased restrictions on medical marijuana manufacturing and advertising, prohibiting any products or messages which promote “recreational cannabis use”, while adding stricter eligibility requirements for industry workers.
In June, he signed a separate measure that prohibited sober living homes from allowing their residents to possess or to use medical marijuana. This is true even if a patient has been certified by a physician to use cannabis legally therapeutically according to state law. All other pharmaceuticals prescribed by doctors may still be allowed.
In June, the Governor also signed a law that prohibits sales of consumable hemp products to people under 21. This includes cannabis “chewing-gum”. It is an extension of a previous prohibition against young people being allowed to buy smokable hemp.
DeSantis’s June signed bill resulted in the recent awarding of two long-awaited licenses for medical marijuana businesses to Black farmers in Florida.
Advocates are watching the Supreme Court closely to see if a statewide measure legalizing marijuana will be on the ballot in 2024. After activists submitted enough signatures for it to be eligible for ballot access, the attorney general has asked the court to invalidate this initiative.
If voters approve the initiative, economic analysts in the Florida legislature and DeSantis’s office estimate the initiative will generate new sales tax revenues between $195.6 and $431.3 millions annually. These figures could rise if legislators impose a similar excise tax to those in other legalized states on cannabis transactions.
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