Florida Republicans Officially Oppose Amendment 3

On November 5^th, Floridians will head to the polls and decide whether to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 years and older. While some conservative lawmakers have expressed their opposition to the move, the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) had not made an official declaration of their stance. Florida Republicans have now announced that they oppose Amendment 3.

In a statement, RPOF Chair Evan Power pushed back against the amendment.

“Floridians are confident that their legislature has been passing laws that reflect the priorities of our state,” he said. “Amendments 3 and 4 are unnecessary attempts by an increasingly shrinking minority who know the only way to win support for their radical agenda is to confuse and mislead the electorate.”

In their resolution, the state GOP's 40-member executive committee shared that they oppose Amendment 3 because it would "benefit powerful marijuana special interests" and "put children at risk."

Amendment 4, which Chair Power mentioned in his statement, will also be on the ballot, is an abortion rights amendment. In early April, Chair Power released a statement against Amendment 4, calling it “a deceptively worded pro-abortion amendment.”

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) has spoken out against both amendments, indicating that he will campaign against both. Last week, during a bill ceremony in Tampa, he said his position is “’no’ on both of those.” “We’ll be getting involved in different ways… across those initiatives.”

A spokesperson for Smart and Safe Florida, the campaign working to get Amendment 3 approved, disregarded Chair Power’s announcement.

Morgan Hill, the Smart and Safe communications director, commented that “the decision to authorize the use of adult-use cannabis will be made by the citizens of Florida at the ballot box- not at a gathering of political insiders. Amendment 3 has wide bipartisan support because Floridians know legalization means accountability, transparency, and safety.”

In 2016, medical marijuana was adopted after 71% of Floridians voted in favor against the 29% that voted against the initiative.

According to their resolution, the RPOF suggests the following amendment votes in November:

A "Yes" vote on Amendment 1, Partisan Election of Members of District School Boards

A "Yes" vote on Amendment 2, Right to Fish and Hunt

A "No" vote on Amendment 3, Adult Personal use of Marijuana

A "No" vote on Amendment 4, Amendment to Limit Government Interference with Abortion

A "Yes" vote on Amendment 5, Annual Adjustments to the Value of Certain Homestead Exemptions

A "Yes" vote on Amendment 6, Repeal of Public Campaign Financing Requirement