Senate Democrats say recreational pot measure offers chance to revisit regulatory environment

Florida gets up to speed in awarding licenses to cannabis growers.

While critics of a recreational pot amendment predict economic harm, Senate Democrats see a chance for a fairer marketplace.

On a press call, several Democrats said if Amendment 3 passes, that should prompt Florida to revisit the current regulatory environment around marijuana.

“When we legalize marijuana, just as we have with our medical marijuana industry, we will share some of those perspectives in ridding ourselves of this vertical integration that keeps many of our participants from being a part of this industry, especially our Black and Brown community,” said Sen. Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat.

Florida’s current vertical integration means licensed businesses can only sell marijuana produced by the same company, a “seed to sale” requirement as described by Davis.

Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith, an Orlando Democrat, was one of nine members of the House in 2017 to vote against the implementing legislation for medical marijuana after voters approved legalizing cannabis for health purposes the prior year. Smith voted “no” on the bill because he thought the legislation was too restrictive.

Over three terms in the House, he pushed to change regulations to allow licenses for production, distribution or sale, but the matter was never considered. Now, he scoffs as critics of marijuana say Amendment 3 will create a marijuana monopoly in Florida.

“The same Republican lawmakers who are making those false claims actually themselves implemented medical cannabis in 2017 and created the system that we have right now where only Big Cannabis corporations can enter the market,” he said.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, incoming Senate Democratic Leader, said that after Amendment 3 passes, the Legislature will need to craft implementing legislation again, and acknowledged it will most likely be a Republican majority writing legislation to put on the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, an outspoken critic of the measure.

“And yet we’re seeing, obviously you’ve noticed, that this might necessarily be a strictly partisan issue,” he said. The Miami-Dade Democrat predicted many Republicans will support the amendment.

That includes Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Sen. Joe Gruters, a former Republican Party of Florida Chair. The latter has already proposed legislation that would legalize smoking marijuana recreationally at home while prohibiting it in public settings.

Sen. Tina Polsky, a Boca Raton Democrat, said she supports that legislation, and does believe Florida should establish a regulatory environment around the narcotic.

“I’m not a user, but I still appreciate the fact that other people do, and we need it to be safe and clean,” Polsky said. “We need to be able to regulate it with things like no smoking in public places, and we can only do that if Amendment 3 passes.”