Trump signals support for Florida marijuana legalization

[Thiệu Ngô]

His statement comes a day after announcing he would vote against a separate ballot measure that would expand abortion rights in Florida.

By Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing and Arek Sarkissian

Donald Trump on Saturday expressed support for a ballot initiative in his home state of Florida that would legalize the use of marijuana for adults, staking out a moderate stance amid his otherwise ambiguous messaging on legalization.

If approved by 60 percent of general-election voters in November, Florida’s Amendment 3 would authorize 25 companies licensed by the state to sell marijuana to adults for recreational use and allow the possession of the substance up to 3 ounces.

In a lengthy post on the Trump-owned social network Truth Social Saturday morning, the former president stopped short of formally endorsing the measure but asserted that — “whether people like it or not” — marijuana legalization “will happen.” He also expressed support for the prohibition of marijuana use in public spaces.

“Someone should not be a criminal in Florida, when this is legal in so many other States. We do not need to ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars arresting adults with personal amounts of it on them, and no one should grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana,” Trump wrote.

Trump’s status as a Florida voter makes him eligible to vote for two of the state’s high-profile state ballot initiatives in November. Along with Amendment 3, which would legalize marijuana use for people aged 21 and over, there’s also Amendment 4, which seeks to loosen the state’s ban on abortion from 6 weeks of pregnancy to around 24 weeks.

Amendment 3 is backed by Florida’s medical marijuana industry, which is one of the largest in the country and brings in more than $2 billion in profits each year.

Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, a Trump ally and former state GOP chair, applauded the former president’s position, writing on X: “I am incredibly proud to have President Trump stand alongside us in our effort to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for simple possession of marijuana and to give Floridians the same individual freedom to choose safe, tested products that more than half the country already enjoys.”

Trump has historically waffled on his stance on marijuana legalization. During his presidency, Trump both voiced support for individual states’ legalization laws and appointed Jeff Sessions, a notorious opponent of marijuana legalization, as attorney general.

The Republican nominee has also given conflicting statements about his stance on abortion rights. He declined to endorse a national abortion ban despite party pressure and has stated that the issue of abortion limits should be left up to the states.

In a TV interview on Thursday, Trump criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban, which was championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans, and signaled his support for Amendment 4. But just 24 hours later, he explicitly said he would not vote for Amendment 4, seemingly backpedaling from his previous remarks.

DeSantis has come out with force against both ballot measures, launching a political committee called the Florida Freedom Fund to attack the legalization push and efforts to enshrine the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. DeSantis also helped launch the “No on 3” campaign in July, which released a statement saying that the initiative would lead to “weed everywhere, every place, and in your face.”

DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment about Trump and his comments on Amendment 3.

Marijuana legalization has become overwhelmingly popular across the country in recent years, with 88 percent of Americans saying marijuana should be legal for personal or medical use, according to a March study by the Pew Research Center. While marijuana is still illegal under federal law, 24 states and Washington, D.C., have passed legislation allowing its recreational use.