Former US President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate in the race for the White House, said on Sunday (8) that he will vote in favor of legalizing marijuana for recreational use in Florida, his home state.
The statement was made through his social network, Truth Social. “As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end unnecessary arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” he said.
According to the former president, “we need to implement smart regulations, while providing safe and tested products to American adults,” he said when declaring his support for Amendment 3, which will be voted on in November in the state governed by Republican Ron DeSantis, Trump’s former opponent to represent the party during the party’s primaries and who, later, after dropping out of the race, expressed support for the current candidate.
Trump also reinforced his plans on the issue if he is reelected. “As president, we will continue to focus on research to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state-licensed businesses, and support the rights of states to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida.”
The former president’s statement in support of the amendment runs counter to the views of Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders on the issue. According to statements made earlier this year by the Florida governor, the measure is “radical” and would leave “cities and towns across the state smelling of marijuana.”
The state Republican party also made clear its opposition to the electoral initiative in May of this year, with a resolution from the party’s executive board to that effect, which was unanimously approved.
Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power also released a statement at the time criticizing the amendment, as well as another measure on legalizing abortion. According to Power, “these are unnecessary attempts by a shrinking minority who know that the only way to gain support for their radical agenda is to confuse and deceive the electorate.”
Amendment 3 needs 60% of the votes to pass. One of the most important parts of the measure defends the recreational use of marijuana for adults over 21, allowing the “purchase and use of products and accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion or otherwise.”
It also allows “medical marijuana treatment centers and other state-licensed entities to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and paraphernalia.”
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