The legalization of marijuana has been a topic of concern for Floridians, and it’s a topic that both Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried (D) and Florida Rep. Charlie Crist (D) have been campaigning on.
Both lawmakers are vying for the top post in Florida, and Crist has just doubled down on his support to make sure that not only is the recreational use of marijuana legalized but also that records of nonviolent marijuana offenders will be expunged.
Rep. Crist attended a panel held on April 20th, which is a date that has been unofficially adopted as a day to spread marijuana awareness.
The panel took place in Tallahassee’s LeRoy Collins Downtown Library, and a number of individuals attended including student leaders from Florida A&M University and Florida State University and Leon County elected officials.
In the panel, Crist spoke of the health benefits of smoking marijuana, and he also related a personal anecdote regarding his sister, Margaret Crist Wood, who sadly passed away from cancer in 2015.
“I couldn’t help but think if marijuana had already been made legalized widely, that she may have been able to benefit from that,” Crist said, adding that “in our society, a lot of people who experience pain end up sadly getting addicted to opioids and other stronger, powerful type drugs that can be extremely detrimental and fatal.”
The Florida lawmaker first vowed to legalize recreational marijuana use in October of last year, and since then he has sponsored federal legislation that would legalize marijuana use nationwide.
“we’re the third-largest state in America, and we are 49th in what we pay our teachers, almost dead last,” he shared, saying that the state “can make up a lot of ground in that area from the taxing of cannabis.”
