Will county GOP chapters take a different stance from Florida GOP on marijuana amendment?

The Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) may oppose a ballot initiative on marijuana. But will every county GOP chapter take the same position?

At a quarterly meeting for the state party, board members unanimously passed a resolution taking positions on all amendments already approved for Florida’s ballot in November. The party is supporting amendments affirming fishing and hunting rights and eliminating campaign public financing. It also encouraged voters to vote down amendments rolling back abortion restrictions and legalizing recreational marijuana.

The latter took some state Republicans by surprise, but a Republican official told Florida Politics that Gov. Ron DeSantis urged the party to take that stance. DeSantis has publicly called the marijuana amendment “radical” and “vague,” predicting its defeat.

But the same official suggested that DeSantis may want the party to lead the fight against the amendment instead of DeSantis, in part because the measure has a level of bipartisan support. Indeed, some county Republican Executive Committees may take contrary stances to the state party, the official predicted.

RPOF Chair Evan Power isn’t so sure, noting that he had unanimous agreement from the state committee on all the amendments. For him, the position against the marijuana measure is more about putting legislative policy in the state constitution as it is about whether marijuana should be decriminalized.

“At the end of the day, this should be decided by the Legislature,” Power said. “But dark money groups are trying to act on what’s in the constitution.”

He said the state party’s official positions also govern county Republican Executive Committees. That precludes officials with parties from campaigning for the measure in opposition to the resolution, at least in any official party capacity.

“Once the state party takes a view the county parties can’t oppose something,” Power said.

He also pushed back on the notion that DeSantis was the prime source of pressure on taking a stance on the proposed amendment. “The Governor hasn’t made any specific asks,” he said.

Recent polling by USA Today and Ipsos showed a majority of Floridians support the proposed constitutional amendment, though current support falls short of a required 60% threshold to pass. That’s largely thanks to 58% of Republicans who said they would vote “no.” But 38% of Republicans told pollsters they support legalization, as do a majority of Democrats and independents.

Still, even in counties where the cannabis industry has a large presence, Republican leaders don’t support the measure. In Gadsden County, home to one of Trulieve’s first Florida nurseries, Republican leaders don’t expect partisans to waiver.

“The RPOF is correct to oppose the proposed Amendment 3 because multiple objective studies have confirmed that the recreational use of cannabis negatively impacts the general public’s overall health and safety,” said Doug Croley, Chair of the Gadsden County Republican Executive Committee.

He doesn’t expect his county membership to feel different.

“The Gadsden County Republican Executive Committee is very unlikely to oppose the Republican Party of Florida’s recently adopted position against legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in Florida,” he said.