Trump, a Florida resident, has said he will vote for the amendment that would legalize recreational marijuana in the state for adults, even though DeSantis is campaigning against it.
Most Florida Republicans, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, have either opposed or remained silent on a ballot measure legalizing recreational marijuana use for adults, even as former President Donald Trump came out in support of it.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis are at each other’s throats once again — this time over Florida’s ballot initiative to legalize adult-use marijuana in their shared home state.
Trump, running for the White House for the third time in as many seasons, formally endorsed the measure last week, even as his defeated presidential opponent invested significant political capital into defeating Amendment 3. DeSantis calls it a ploy by the state’s $2 billion medical marijuana industry to create a monopoly and says its broad terms would allow people to carry dozens of pre-rolled “joints” and smoke them in public without consequence.
Much like the presidential primaries, where the majority of the congressional delegation supported Trump and state lawmakers voted for the governor except for a few prominent defectors, the state’s two most prominent Republican politicians are once again forcing Republicans to choose sides. And while the governor’s concerns largely reflect the longstanding opposition to marijuana among most state Republicans, DeSantis has recently begun chastising Republican lawmakers for not doing more to fight the measure and a separate initiative to expand abortion rights.
« Vous dites que vous vous intéressez à ces questions, mais quand vient le moment de faire quelque chose, vous n’êtes nulle part », a déclaré DeSantis lors d’une récente discussion dans une église de Tallahassee. « C’est ça, un leadership courageux. »
Jusqu'à présent, la plupart des républicains de l'État sont restés silencieux sur la question ou se sont opposés à la légalisation, et le parti républicain de l'État s'est officiellement prononcé contre la mesure, promettant de la combattre. Le sénateur d'État Joe Gruters, un allié de l'ancien président, a déclaré qu'il était le seul législateur républicain de l'État à soutenir publiquement la mesure.
Former Sen. Jeff Brandes said he believes at least half of Republican lawmakers privately support Amendment 3, even if they publicly oppose it.
But former state Sen. Jeff Brandes, a St. Petersburg Republican who supported legalization in the Legislature before his term limits, said he believes at least half of Republican lawmakers privately support Amendment 3, even if they publicly oppose it. He said the legalization bills he authored that died in committee had plenty of private support from House and Senate Republicans, but none were willing to break ranks with DeSantis or the Republican legislative leadership then — or now.
“It just goes to show that the legislature is completely helpless when it comes to addressing this problem and doing it legislatively,” Brandes said. “They don’t want to do the hard work because they don’t want to smell the devil’s lettuce on them.”
Amendment 3 would legalize marijuana for those 21 and older if it receives at least 60 percent of the vote. The campaign behind the measure estimates that half of that support would have to come from Republican voters.
History shows that it’s possible for a cannabis initiative to pass the 60 percent threshold even if the makeup of the state’s registered voters has changed. Florida voters legalized medical marijuana with 71 percent of the vote in 2016, but that was also when there were 400,000 more Democratic voters than Republicans on the ballot. This year, the Republican Party has 1 million more registered voters than Democrats.
Amendment 3 would be a boon to the state’s medical marijuana industry — the largest of its kind in the country — by allowing Florida’s 25 state-licensed marijuana businesses to expand into the recreational market. The measure is backed by the Smart & Safe Committee, which has raised more than $94 million in cash contributions, primarily from Trulieve, which is the state’s largest medical marijuana company with about 150 retail locations statewide.
Asked about Republican support for Amendment 3, Smart & Safe spokesperson Morgan Hill pointed to a Fox News poll from June showing that 57% of Republicans support the measure. “Floridians agree that it is time to stop arresting adults for simple marijuana possession and that Floridians deserve access to safe, lab-tested products,” Hill wrote in an email.
A Trump campaign spokesperson pointed to his posts on Truth Social in support of the amendment and declined to comment on DeSantis’ opposition. A spokesperson for the governor did not respond to a request for comment.
Aside from Trump’s support for the amendment, he hasn’t been particularly involved in the campaign to pass it. The same can’t be said for DeSantis’ opposition efforts. He’s traveled the state to denounce the amendment, and his political outreach is closely tied to the efforts to defeat it.
Both of Florida’s top incoming legislative leaders — House Speaker-elect Daniel Perez and Senate President-elect Ben Albritton — are opposed to Amendment 3. In a statement, Albritton wrote that the state’s medical marijuana law already provides access to patients who need it.
“I am deeply concerned about the harm that Amendment 3 will do to our state and future generations,” Albritton wrote. “Legalizing recreational use will accelerate our behavioral health crisis, harm our children at critical stages of development, and increase impaired driving on our roads.”
Aside from Gruters, who remains close to Trump, few current Republicans seem willing to oppose the governor or their House leaders. But Gruters appeared in a Smart & Safe campaign ad with a Democratic state senator, where he emphasized both his support for Trump and Amendment 3. “This is not about politics, this is about Florida,” he says in the ad.
But the party’s division is more pronounced at the grassroots. Last week, the Smart & Safe Committee announced the endorsement of the Young Republicans of Florida.
“Florida Young Republicans hereby support President Trump in his positions on Florida ballot measures,” the group said of the endorsement.
But the Young Republicans’ support was quickly followed by a separate statement issued by a Tallahassee-based chapter of the organization announcing its opposition to the measure. The statement is signed by more than 30 members from across the state.
Many members of the Capital Young Republicans chapter work for state agencies and offices overseen by the governor’s office. “We are committed to ensuring Floridians see Amendment 3 for what it truly is and urge all voters to reject it in the upcoming election,” the chapter’s statement read.
And the divide can get even more personal. The 2017 law that lawmakers drafted to implement the medical marijuana initiative was sponsored by former state Sen. Rob Bradley, who is a Republican. Bradley said he supports Amendment 3 although his wife, current state Sen. Jennifer Bradley, who is also a Republican, opposes it.
Efforts to reach current Sen. Bradley were unsuccessful.
“We agree on 95 percent, but not on that one,” former Sen. Bradley said.