Florida’s new governor has a message for the GOP on marijuana: Don’t fight a losing battle.
On Thursday, Gov. Ron DeSantis took the first step to paving the way to end legal wrangling over smokable medical marijuana.
Smokable medical marijuana in the state has been in limbo since voters passed the Florida Medical Marijuana Legalization Initiative in 2016, a ballot proposal that amended the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana.
In 2017, the state legislature passed a bill establishing the regulatory framework for implementing medical marijuana in the state. That bill, signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, was exceptionally restrictive: banning smokable marijuana, limiting licensing, and mandating vertical integration of marijuana business, among other provisions.
Given that the amendment specifically allowed “the right to use the form of medical marijuana for treatment of their debilitating medical conditions as recommended by their certified physicians, including the use of smokable marijuana in private places,” the state was inviting the lawsuit that followed. The judge agreed that the law violated the amendment, which of course prompted an appeal from the state, desperate to keep their version of the law. The drama is ongoing and last Tuesday saw former Gov. Rick Scott’s administration in the 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee to defend the law.
DeSantis was sworn in as governor that same day, bringing with him a very different vision for the state’s marijuana laws.
On Thursday he made clear just how different his approach would be and gave what amounted to a stern rebuke of his predecessor’s administration. Speaking at a press conference, he outlined a choice for law makers: Revise the law or his administration would simply drop the state’s currently pending appeal and allow the judge’s ruling of the ban as unconstitutional to stand.
Joined on the podium by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who also supports medical marijuana, DeSantis explained, “I want people to have their suffering relieved,” adding, “This law isn’t up to snuff.”
He’s right. Lawmakers deliberately tried to circumvent the clear will of the people on an initiative that earned a whopping 71 percent of the vote. Evidently, DeSantis and Gaetz realize what their party colleges are still figuring out: Medical marijuana is helpful, popular and, especially when included in an already passed amendment, an impossible issue to oppose.
Speaking about the ballot proposal, DeSantis made that clear, telling the audience, “This thing should have been implemented, we should have moved on.”
For Republicans still fighting an outdated battle against marijuana despite widely successful ballot proposals, that’s a good message — and not just for Florida.
