DeSantis Stirs Pot Again With More Anti-Marijuana Ads Funded By Taxpayers, Including One Linking Cannabis To Domestic Violence

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing new allegations of weaponizing state agencies with taxpayer-funded ads to support his campaign to defeat a marijuana legalization initiative that voters will decide on at the ballot next month.

In an ad from the Department of Transportation (DOT), three sheriffs make various claims about the harms of cannabis—including one who suggests that marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of domestic violence, contrary to research on the topic.

“When we make home visits for domestic violence calls, they’re often associated with marijuana use,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Duval County Sheriff T.K. Waters said in the PSA, first reported by Seeking Rents, that there are “too many kids going to the ER because of weed gummies and joints laced with fentanyl.”

In one of the only statements from the sheriffs that seems directly relevant to DOT, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said “we see more traffic collisions and fatalities because of driving high.”

Florida Sheriffs Alert: Impaired driving affects more than just you. Marijuana is sending more kids to the E.R., is often tied to domestic abuse, and is causing increased car collisions, fatalities, and insurance rates. Educate your families—protect your kids! pic.twitter.com/xoJav4DyGn

— FLORIDA DOT (@MyFDOT) October 17, 2024

That also ties back into a separate ad from the department that aired last month, asserting that “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.” A Florida Democratic senator has since sued the state over that PSA, arguing that it unconstitutionally appropriates tax dollars for political purposes.

Research on the the relationship between state marijuana laws and rates of impaired driving has been mixed, and even federal reports have said the effects of cannabis use on driving are unclear at this point.

Meanwhile, another newly released ad—jointly sponsored ad from the Departments of Health, Education and Children & Families—is targeted at parents, with warnings about the dangers of cannabis use for children, saying it “can do real damage to the still-developing brains of young people.”

“Protect your teen’s future and mental health: Make sure they know the risks to marijuana,” the state education department-supported ad says.

None of the PSAs directly address the fact that cannabis legalization is on the ballot, but advocates say the timing—in addition to DeSantis’s personal animus toward Amendment 3—clearly signal that they are attempts to influence voters ahead of Election Day.

On the other side of the marijuana debate, the Safe & Smart Florida campaign behind Amendment 3 has been ramping up its advertising over the past few months, and it’s increasingly leaned into messaging about the bipartisan appeal of the legalization measure.

One of the most recent ads features clips of former President Donald Trump endorsing the cannabis reform proposal—with a call for voters to “join” him in supporting the measure.

The promotion comes just weeks after Smart & Safe Florida released another ad highlighting the fact that both major party presidential nominees—Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris—as well as their running mates share at least one thing in common: They don’t believe in criminalizing people over cannabis.

The Florida campaign released another ad on Wednesday featuring state Sen. Joe Gruters (R), who’s endorsed the initiative. In that ad, the GOP senator and former chair of the Florida Republican Party said he’s “as MAGA as they come,” referencing his support for Trump.

Grunters and Sen. Shevrin Jones (D) also recently teamed up to promote the state marijuana legalization initiative in another campaign ad. The bipartisan senators stood side-by-side, acknowledging that while they “don’t agree on much—hardly anything” and would be each voting for their respective party’s presidential nominee, they “do agree on this: Amendment 3 is good for Florida.”

Meanwhile, a political committee opposing the legalization measure has received a half-million-dollar contribution from an organization that Elon Musk reportedly used to quietly support Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. At the same time, the pro-legalization campaign has officially exceeded $100 million in total contributions.

Also, the main corporate backer of the legalization initiative, the multi-state cannabis operator Trulieve, rerecently filed a defamation suit against the state’s Republican Party, alleging it’s knowingly deceived voters about the proposed constitutional change known as Amendment 3.

There’s been a mix of support and opposition for the Florida legalization amendment on both sides of the partisan spectrum.

For example, the former head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under then-President Bill Clinton recently urged Florida voters to reject the marijuana legalization initiative, arguing that it would create a “new addiction-for-profit industry” in the state.

Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former state agriculture commissioner, recently endorsed Amendment 3. And the chair also laid out a framework for regulating cannabis that she thinks the legislature should enact if voters do approve the reform. That involves automatic expungements for prior marijuana convictions, taking steps to mitigate the risk of monopolization in the industry and directing tax revenue to Black communities and education.

Meanwhile, two congressional Republicans representing Florida also recently weighed in on the state’s marijuana legalization initiative—with Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL) predicting it will fail and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) saying he remains undecided on the measure even after former President Donald Trump came out in support of it.

Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), for his part, has said he intends to vote against it, strictly because he feels the reform should be enacted statutorily, rather than as a constitutional amendment that would prove more challenging to amend.

On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure will pass.

While polling has also consistently demonstrated that the ballot measure enjoys majority support from Democrats and Republicans alike—and despite the fact that Trump has endorsed it as well—Florida’s governor has not relented in his crusade to defeat it.

Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers and Gruters, the GOP state senator, also met with Trump ahead of his endorsement of Amendment 3, as well as federal rescheduling and industry banking access.

Meanwhile, another recent survey from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which is against the cannabis initiative, found that 59 percent of likely voters in the state back Amendment 3.

A separate poll from the James Madison Institute (JMI) showed 64 percent of likely voters in Florida are in favor of the legalization proposal.

Smart & Safe Florida also rolled out another series of new ads last month—including one calling out the hypocrisy of criminalizing cannabis while alcohol is legally available and another featuring a county sheriff making the case for ending marijuana prohibition.

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