Donald Trump Supports Florida's Marijuana Legalization Amendment

On Saturday, former President Donald J. Trump indicated his support for a ballot initiative that would legalize marijuana for recreational use in Florida. While he did not fully back the proposal, he did note that he did not think marijuana should be illegal in his adopted state when it is legal in others.

Trump expressed concerns about the execution of Amendment 3 and painted its ratification as inevitable in a post on his social media network, Truth Social. According to public opinion polls, the majority of Floridians support the proposal.

"In Florida, like so many other States that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3," the former president wrote, adding, “Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly. We need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities."

Trump framed his position as one consistent with his "Make America Safe Again" agenda, writing that criminalizing marijuana would "waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them."

He added, "no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana. We will make America SAFE again!"

The marijuana ballot measure, if passed, would "allow adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption."

A decision to put the proposal on the ballot for 2024 was made in April by the state Supreme Court.

Leading Florida Republicans and Mr. DeSantis have contributed to the funding of the campaigns against the amendments pertaining to abortion rights and recreational marijuana this year. The campaign against Amendment 3, which Ken Griffin, the billionaire hedge fund investor based in Miami, called "a terrible plan to create the nation's most expansive and destructive marijuana laws," received a $12 million donation from Griffin.

According to Mr. DeSantis, the legislation will cause the streets to smell like marijuana, frightening away families, businesses, and visitors. In July, he declared, "I don't think we need to mess up the state."

Additionally, Trump has spoken on Amendment 4, a ballot initiative in Florida that would allow abortions "before viability." According to polls, the majority of Floridians are in favor of the proposal, yet it's not certain if Amendments 3 or 4 would get the more than 60% of votes needed to pass.

A day later, on Friday, Trump clarified his remarks, saying, "I'll be voting no," on the abortion rights ballot measure.