ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Voters in Florida will soon decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults.
If approved by at least 60 percent of voters, the proposal will amend the state’s constitution to allow adults 21 and older to possess, purchase or use marijuana for non-medical purposes.
The initiative is sponsored by a group called Safe and Smart Florida. Trulieve, a marijuana dispensary company with several medical dispensaries in Florida, is a main financial backer, campaign finance data records show.
Florida would join 24 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana. It would still be illegal under federal law.
Supporters like well-known Florida attorney John Morgan have argued it’s time to treat marijuana like alcohol. But Governor Ron DeSantis has called the proposal extreme, claiming it will allow pot use anywhere.
Viewers like Cynthia K. in Palm Harbor have contacted VERIFY with questions about the amendment and claims being made by supporters and opponents. Cynthia asked if ads that say passing Amendment 3 will generate “billions” for schools are true.
THE SOURCES
THE QUESTION
Will legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida generate “billions” for schools and police?
THE ANSWER
It’s estimated that legalized recreational marijuana could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue each year. There's no guarantee of how it would be allocated.
WHAT WE FOUND
Legalizing recreational marijuana could generate between $195 million and $431 million in annual tax revenue, according to the state’s Financial Impact Estimating Conference (FIEC).
The group, which consists of economists for state agencies, lawmakers and the governor’s office, reviewed other states’ experiences with retail sales of non-medical marijuana.
More than half of the states reviewed impose a separate excise tax on top of sales tax, which would require legislative action in Florida, the group noted in its analysis.
Generating the "billions" the ad claims would likely take several years. Additionally, there’s no guarantee of where it would be spent.
“The state legislature would determine the allocation of tax revenue," Smart and Safe Florida spokesperson Morgan Hill said in an email, noting several states allocate funding from marijuana tax revenue to teacher pay and education as well as criminal justice and policing.
"We are hopeful that would be part of the recreational marijuana tax allocation here in Florida."
THE QUESTION
If Amendment 3 passes, will recreational marijuana immediately become legal?
THE ANSWER
No, recreational marijuana won’t instantly become legal. State lawmakers will need to pass implementing legislation.
WHAT WE FOUND
If voters approve Amendment 3, state lawmakers will then have to pass implementing legislation to enact and regulate it.
Consider that after Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana for medical use in 2016, lawmakers initially banned users from being able to smoke it. Cannabis advocates then sued. It took two years for lawmakers to pass legislation allowing smokable medical pot.
Just like alcohol and tobacco, lawmakers will be able to regulate where you’re able to use it, among other things.
Amendment 3 itself reads that nothing in its language prohibits the legislature from passing laws consistent with the amendment.
THE QUESTION
Will Amendment 3 allow people to smoke marijuana anywhere, including public places, restaurants and events?
THE ANSWER
Amendment 3 does not dictate where recreational marijuana would be smoked. State lawmakers would regulate that, likely within the legislation that would enact the legalization of recreational marijuana.
WHAT WE FOUND
Several television ads claim Amendment 3 "authorizes" smoking weed in public spaces, "even in restaurants." However, the full text of the amendment does not address where people would be allowed to smoke marijuana.
Therefore, saying Amendment 3 "authorizes" smoking marijuana in public is misleading.
The proposed constitutional amendment does clarify that the state legislature can "enact laws that are consistent" with the legalization of recreational marijuana. Because lawmakers would have to pass a bill officially making recreational marijuana legal, regulations on where it can be smoked would likely be included in that measure.
That was the case when medical marijuana was legalized.
As mentioned above, Florida voters passed a constitutional amendment making medical marijuana legal in 2016. But when state lawmakers enacted it, they banned smokable marijuana. When the state eventually legalized smoking medical marijuana three years later, that legislation included provisions on where it can be smoked.
Florida's Office of Medical Marijuana Use is responsible for enforcing those laws, which ban medical marijuana from being smoked in public. Medical marijuana users in Florida are currently only allowed to smoke weed on private property with permission from the property owner.
There are also rules put in place by local governments - either cities or counties - that ban smoking in all forms at parks or beaches they own.
Republican State Senator Joe Gruters, who represents the Sarasota area, has vowed to introduce legislation banning all forms of smoking in public places statewide if Amendment 3 is passed.
“People don't want to go outside and smell it in public places,” Gruters said. "So let's go ahead and ban public smoking in all public places.”
The Sarasota Republican and former chairman of the state GOP recently made waves by bucking his party and voicing support of Amendment 3, which he says will generate much-needed revenue for public services.
“I think that we can do a better job in the state. I think we can make it safer. I think it's time to decriminalize and I think we can control the time, place and manner, that last bit is where this bill comes into play,” Gruters said.
THE QUESTION
Does Amendment 3 ban home-grown marijuana?
THE ANSWER
The claim that Amendment 3 bans home-grown marijuana is misleading because home-grown marijuana is already illegal in Florida, and Amendment 3 wouldn't change that.
WHAT WE FOUND
Florida law makes it a crime for a person to grow their own marijuana at home. Depending on the amount, it can be punishable by either a third-degree felony or a first-degree misdemeanor.
Amendment 3 doesn't mention anything about home-grown pot, meaning it wouldn't change the current law.
Other states that have allowed people to grow marijuana at home did so through legislation. The current Florida statute banning it would have to be amended to create an exception for marijuana. That would require a lawmaker to introduce that legislation, and the bill would have to make it all the way through the Florida legislature and be signed by the governor to take effect.
THE QUESTION
Do “most Americans” have access to legal, regulated marijuana?
THE ANSWER
Yes, most Americans have access to legal, regulated marijuana, as pro-Amendment 3 ads claim.
WHAT WE FOUND
More than half of the U.S. population (54 percent) live in a state where recreational marijuana is legal, according to the Pew Research Center, which means it’s also regulated. When factoring in medical marijuana, that number jumps to 74 percent.
The findings are based on an analysis of state marijuana laws from the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, and the U.S. population statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Since 2012, marijuana has been legalized for recreational use in 24 states and the District of Columbia.
Previous polling shows 70 percent of Floridians support legalizing marijuana.
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