Jacob Ogles
A new ad promoting a recreational pot ballot measure contrasts Florida’s treatment of alcohol to that of marijuana.
The Smart & Safe Florida just launched a 30-second video entitled “Different.” In the spot, a man relaxing in a chair on a Florida dock discusses the difference in how Florida treats weed and booze.
“You can walk into any store in Florida and buy a beer,” the man says to the camera, “but you’ll be locked up for buying marijuana.”
It’s a familiar argument from marijuana proponents, who argue that cannabis poses less public health risks than alcohol. The Smart & Safe campaign also pointed to a Food and Drug Administration study in January that showed marijuana was less dangerous than other illegal drugs, and that it may hold greater medicinal value.
“It’s actually safer than alcohol but the government treats it totally different,” the man in the latest ad states. “It doesn’t make sense.”
Florida voters already voted to legalize marijuana in 2016. Voters now will weigh in on decriminalizing recreational use of cannabis.
“Amendment 3 will legalize marijuana for adults — safe, lab-tested and from a store, not the street,” the man in the ad states. “It’s time to give responsible adults the freedom to make their own choices. Vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 3.”
Smart & Safe Florida officials said the ad will play on broadcast, streaming and cable and on digital platforms.
The campaign through Sept. 13 has raised nearly $101,000 supporting the measure, and has already invested more than $72 million. That included spending more than $9.3 million between Sept. 7 and 13, most of that with Ax Media on advertising.
In order for the ballot measure to pass, more than 60% of voters who weigh in on Amendment 3 must vote in favor.
7 comments
Ron Ogden
September 24, 2024 at 2:07 pm
“The simple truth is that burning plant matter produces a lot of harmful chemicals, regardless of which plant it is. There are some differences between marijuana and tobacco smoke, but on the whole they’re very similar.” — From “Tobacco Free Life” https://tobaccofreelife.org/resources/marijuana-vs-tobacco/
The people who stand to make a fortune from legal pot would just as soon you believe it is good for you. Even if it is arguably less dangerous to your health than tobacco, the plain fact is that it does your health no good (I will make an exception in the case where there is no other useful pain control). Why do these folks advocate for legal marijuana? So more people will smoke it. What do they want more people to smoke it? Because they are going to grow it and sell it and get rich. Don’t they know that smoking pot damages human lungs? Sure they do. Well then, why do they. . . Because they don’t give a damn about people, they just give a damn about money. Well, its about freedom and social progress, right? Ha! Ha! Who once said that he smoked marijuana as a kid and then he came to understand it was “a bad habit and a vice”? Answer: Barack Obama. Not quite the old white curmudgeon that the pro-pot people would have you think, hmmm? Q: Hey, English majors–what is an adjectival form of the word “vice” like Obama used? A: “vicious.”
rick whitaker
September 24, 2024 at 5:22 pm
RON OGDEN, you drink your liquor, and other people can eat their edibles.
Brian Kelly
September 24, 2024 at 6:00 pm
Since when does something have to “do your health good” just in order for it to be legal, Ron? So many perfectly legal widely available products, in fact even most legal products we can buy are entirely unhealthy for us and most products on the legal market “do not do your health no good.”.
On the other hand, relatively benign cannabis in in fact far safer, far less harmful to the human body and way healthier than most legal consumables on the legal market.
So the question remains Ron: Why do you prohibitionists irrationally desire to hold relatively benign cannabis to an irrational, stricter double standard than not only way more harmful alcohol but also a way stricter irrational standard than virtually any other legal product including an infinite amount of legal products that “do way less for our health” and far less healthy for us than relatively benign cannabis ?
Brian Kelly
September 24, 2024 at 3:38 pm
Legalize federally now. What’s legal to possess and consume in over half of the populated areas of The United States should not make you a criminal in states still being governed by woefully ignorant prohibitionist politicians.
Cannabis consumers in all states deserve and demand equal rights and protections under our laws that are currently afforded to the drinkers of far more dangerous and deadly, yet perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised and even glorified as an All-American pastime, alcohol.
Plain and simple!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
The “War on Cannabis” has been a complete and utter failure. It is the largest component of the broader yet equally unsuccessful “War on Drugs” that has cost our country over a trillion dollars.
Instead of The United States wasting Billions upon Billions more of our yearly tax dollars fighting a never ending “War on Cannabis”, lets generate Billions of dollars, and improve the deficit instead. Especially now, due to Covid-19. It’s a no brainer.
The Prohibition of Cannabis has also ruined the lives of many of our loved ones. In numbers greater than any other nation, our loved ones are being sent to jail and are being given permanent criminal records. Especially, if they happen to be of the “wrong” skin color or they happen to be from the “wrong” neighborhood. Which ruin their chances of employment for the rest of their lives, and for what reason?
Cannabis is much safer to consume than alcohol. Yet do we lock people up for choosing to drink?
Let’s end this hypocrisy now!
The government should never attempt to legislate morality by creating victim-less cannabis “crimes” because it simply does not work and costs the taxpayers a fortune.
Cannabis Legalization Nationwide is an inevitable reality that’s approaching much sooner than prohibitionists think and there is nothing they can do to stop it!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now! Support Each and Every Cannabis Legalization Initiative!
“Cannabis is 114 times safer than drinking alcohol”
“Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say”
“Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought, researchers say New study: We should stop fighting Cannabis legalization and focus on alcohol and tobacco instead By Christopher Ingraham February 23
Compared with other recreational drugs — including alcohol — Cannabis may be even safer than previously thought. And researchers may be systematically underestimating risks associated with alcohol use.
Those are the top-line findings of recent research published in the journal Scientific Reports, a subsidiary of Nature. Researchers sought to quantify the risk of death associated with the use of a variety of commonly used substances. They found that at the level of individual use, alcohol was the deadliest substance, followed by heroin and cocaine.”
-Washington Post
“The report discovered that Cannabis is 114 times less deadly than alcohol. Researchers were able to determine this by comparing the lethal doses with the amount of typical use. Through this approach, Cannabis had the lowest mortality risk to users out of all the drugs they studied. In fact—because the numbers were crossed with typical daily use—Cannabis is the only drug that tested as “low risk.”
-Complex
Brian Kelly
September 24, 2024 at 5:48 pm
What we certainly don’t need are anymore people who feel justified in appointing themselves to be self-deputized morality police.
We are very capable of choosing for ourselves if we want to consume cannabis, a far less dangerous choice over alcohol, and we definitely don’t need anyone dictating how we should live our own lives.
We can’t just lock up everyone who does things prohibitionists don’t personally approve of.
Fear of Cannabis Legalization Nationwide is unfounded. Not based on any science or fact whatsoever. So please prohibitionists, we beg you to give your scare tactics, “Conspiracy Theories” and “Doomsday Scenarios” over the inevitable Legalization of Cannabis Nationwide a rest. Nobody is buying them anymore these days. Okay?
Furthermore, if all prohibitionists get when they look into that nice, big and shiny crystal ball of theirs, while wondering about the future of cannabis legalization, is horror, doom, and despair, well then I suggest they return that thing as quickly as possible and reclaim the money they shelled out for it, since it’s obviously defective.
The prohibition of cannabis has not decreased the supply nor the demand for cannabis at all. Not one single iota, and it never will. Just a huge and complete waste of our tax dollars to continue criminalizing citizens for choosing a natural, non-toxic, relatively benign plant proven to be much safer than alcohol.
If prohibitionists are going to take it upon themselves to worry about “saving us all” from ourselves, then they need to start with the drug that causes more death and destruction than every other drug in the world COMBINED, which is alcohol!
Why do prohibitionists feel the continued need to vilify and demonize cannabis when they could more wisely focus their efforts on a real, proven killer, alcohol, which again causes more destruction, violence, and death than all other drugs, COMBINED?
Prohibitionists really should get their priorities straight and/or practice a little live and let live. They’ll live longer, happier, and healthier, with a lot less stress if they refrain from being bent on trying to control others through Draconian Cannabis Laws.
Contrary to what prohibitionists are so desperately trying to get the public to believe wholeheartedly and without question, legalizing cannabis IS NOT adding anything new into our society that wasn’t always there and widely available already.
Therefore cannabis legalization does not lead to some massive influx of new cannabis consumers. The very same people who have been consuming cannabis during it’s prohibition are for the most part the very same ones who will be consuming cannabis when it’s legal.
The prohibition of cannabis has never prevented cannabis’s widespread availability nor anyone from consuming cannabis that truly desires to do so.
Cannabis has been ingrained within our society since the days of our founding fathers and part of human culture since biblical times, for thousands of years.
So, since cannabis has always been with us and humans already have thousands upon thousands of years worth of experience with cannabis, what great calamities and “Doomsday Scenarios” do prohibitionists really think will happen now due to current legalization efforts that have never ever happened before in all human history?
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
Cheesy Floridian
September 24, 2024 at 5:54 pm
Vote yes on 3! Let’s have more freedom
ScienceBLVR
September 24, 2024 at 6:50 pm
Nearly 70% of Americans are overweight or obese. Talk about a health crisis. Let’s start with outlawing McDonalds, Dominos, KFC , then onto ultra processed food in boxes. I know…kids would have to get Happy meals on the black market and where would we sell all those Hollywood movie trinkets? But, I’d take a blunt over a bowl of processed fat and sugar any day.