Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday touted Florida's leading economy as a top reason why voters should stomp out an amendment legalizing recreational marijuana, pointing out that the state's financial status is so good there's no need for additional "weed money" to buttress it.
The Governor's comments happened at a West Palm Beach roundtable held to blast the marijuana measure, called Amendment 3. This is his sixth campaign event against the measure in two weeks, with just six days left until Election Day.
"Since I've been Governor, if you look at all the state debt from the 1840s to the present, we've paid off 36% of it. We have the lowest state debt of all 50 states in this country, we've tripled the rainy day fund since I've been Governor, we have massive budget surpluses," DeSantis began, speaking alongside the Department of Children and Families Secretary Shevaun Harris, whose agency has spent millions of dollars of taxpayer money to fund ads opposing marijuana.
"We don't need weed money in Florida, we really don't," he said, noting that the state has funded yearly teacher salary increases, helped law enforcement, and allocated money toward environmental and transportation projects—all without the marijuana industry.
As of June 2023, Florida's outstanding debt was $16.3 billion—an $800 million decrease from the prior fiscal year. To continue this trend, DeSantis said after signing the 2025 budget, Florida must "hold the line" and be fiscally responsible—especially considering the Sunshine State's inflation rate is 14% higher than the national average.
The budget, which provided for $116.5 billion in projects, accounted for a massive $17 billion surplus...a surplus that DeSantis says does not need to be added to by not "positive" endeavors, like the weed industry.
"We have probably the best fiscal situation anywhere in the country...We're in great shape, and this is not the way you want to build your economy, you want to build it the way we've been doing it in Florida, in ways that have been really, really positive," he said.
According to the financial impact statement attached to Amendment 3, once the retail market for recreational weed is "stable", its sales would generate at least $195.6 million annually in state and local sales taxes. This figure was divined from other states' experiences with recreational weed, which includes 24 states and Washington, D.C.
DeSantis, however, theorized that the overall economic impact of Amendment 3, which legalizes up to three ounces of recreational marijuana for adults 21 and over, would actually cause a "net loss" in finances because he thinks fewer tourists will want to come to Florida.
By the data, however, this fear of a damaged tourist industry seems to be somewhat unfounded: Colorado and Washington, for example, saw hotel bookings grow by up to 7% after legalizing the drug.
The election is Nov. 5.
