FLORIDA – Florida’s airwaves have been flooded with Amendment 3 ads for quite some time.
In an ad that ran Monday morning, viewers can hear Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith say no one has arrested more people for marijuana than he has.
Now, it’s fair to say he has experienced a change of heart.
RELATED: Bradford sheriff, former Jacksonville sheriff back Florida marijuana legalization amendment
“We have ruined a lot of young people’s lives who can’t get jobs [because] they were in college and got caught with less than 20 grams of weed,” said Sheriff Smith.
Smith, who once served on a drug task force, said he used to be against the legalization of medical marijuana.
This time, with Amendment 3, the vote is for legal recreational use for people aged 21 and older, and he believes it‘s a train that’s already arrived.
In contrast, Dr. Eric Hall, the secretary for the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, said the vote for legalizing recreational marijuana puts Florida at an “interesting point,” especially when it comes to its youth.
“When it comes to kids, we’re even more concerned [about legalization] because we know the long-term effects on their performance in schools,” he said. “We have the long-term effects on mental health, again, the suicide risk.”
The juvenile justice numbers show that in 2023, there were 43,394 youth arrested statewide. Out of those 43,394, more than 1,400 were for felony drug charges.
Dr. Hall believes the impact of legalizing marijuana can already be felt, and thinks it would only worsen upon Amendment 3’s ratification.
“When you think about all those things combined, and you see a parent face-to-face who’s crying out for help, again, introducing something like this broadens that access,” he said. “It concerns me not only as secretary for DJJ but also as a parent.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis has been outspoken on his vote against Amendment 3. At the RNC this summer, DeSantis said places like Colorado have degraded in quality since legalizing recreational marijuana.
“They have a bigger black market today than when this passed,” DeSantis said. “You go to places like Denver and it smells like marijuana...It has not been good for quality of life that’s just the reality.”
While he typically agrees with DeSantis, Sheriff Smith said he has a different stance.
“We got both presidential candidates that say, ‘Hey, we’re looking at legalizing this,’” Smith said. “President Trump said he’s in support of Amendment 3. It’s coming.”
A University of Colorado Boulder study from 2022 found that the $2 billion industry in Colorado led to an increase in the use of the drug, but not necessarily an increase in behavioral problems.
“Many social ills that opponents warned about a decade ago have not come to pass,” said Brian Keegan, an assistant professor in the Department of Information science who uses data to anaylze both the chemical makeup of cannabis and the evolution of the industry. “DUIs and crime did not explode following legalization. And several studies have shown that opioid use and deaths actually decline in states following legalization.”
The study also found that cannabis use is not without risk, especially for adolescents and young adults, according to the study.
Dr. Hall aligns with DeSantis' disapproval of the legislation.
“I’m definitely disappointed,” he said. “I would never have imagined that here in my home state of Florida, we’d be having this conversation.”
A new poll released this week from the University of North Florida found that 66% of the nearly 900 people polled said they would likely vote yes on Amendment 3. The legislation needs a supermajority of 60% to pass in November.
If passed, the amendment would go into effect in May 2025.