Recreational pot campaign is optimistic heading into final election stretch

When voters are confronted with the question of whether to legalize pot for recreational purposes this November, the campaign behind Amendment 3 is confident they’ll come out on the winning side.

With Labor Day in the rearview, the Election Day sprint is on. And Smart & Safe Florida, the group backing Amendment 3, is stretched, trained and ready to go.

“The momentum behind Amendment 3 is evident,” the group wrote in a memo to supporters touting campaign efforts to date, and a slew of endorsements.

“Bolstered by a wave of endorsements from leaders like Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, Republican State Senator Joe Gruters, Democratic State Senator Shev Jones, Gadsden Sheriff Morris Young, State Attorney Harold Pryor and SEIU Florida, Floridians across the political spectrum are showing their support for Amendment 3.”

The campaign is optimistic after several public polls have shown Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational pot use for those 21 and older, would meet or exceed the 60% threshold needed to pass.

The polls, the campaign says, reflect “broad public support for expanding our individual freedoms and putting an end to the needless arrest and incarceration of adult Floridians for simple possession of marijuana.”

Four polls have shown Amendment 3 with the support needed to pass, including a Fox News Poll that found 66% support; a Suffolk University Poll that showed 63% support; a University of North Florida Poll indicating 64% support; and even a poll from the opposition campaign showing 64% support.

“Floridians’ support for Amendment 3 echoes national sentiment that marijuana possession is punished ‘too harshly.’ Overwhelmingly, Americans believe marijuana should be legal for recreational purposes, with 90% believing marijuana should be legal in some form,” the Smart & Safe Florida memo reads.

The campaign has been targeting voters on television, through digital advertising, mail outreach and grassroots engagement.

“Through these channels, Smart & Safe Florida will continue to communicate with Florida voters about ending the vicious marijuana arrests and incarcerations, as well as the health and safety benefits of a legal and regulated recreational marijuana market,” the group said.

That includes educating voters on “recent research showing the economic and social benefits adult use recreational marijuana has already brought to other states and how we can implement it here to best serve Florida.”

Moving forward, the group plans to continue engaging voters across the state to dispel misinformation, explain positive impacts of Amendment 3 and answer questions about the amendment and its potential impacts.

And the campaign will continue rounding up support, adding to the more than two dozen endorsements it has already earned.

Some of those endorsers include rapper Wiz Khalifa and boxing legend Mike Tyson. Perhaps unsurprisingly given his past support for marijuana initiatives, famed Florida trial lawyer John Morgan is also a backer. Other supporters include U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, several Democratic state Senators, SEIU Florida, the ACLU of Florida, the Libertarian Party of Florida, the Tampa Bay Young Republicans, and more.