Jacob Ogles
As debates show sharp the divide between the Republican and Democratic tickets, a recreational marijuana campaign is highlighting a key area of agreement.
The Smart & Safe Florida campaign notes Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Republican opponent Donald Trump both favor legalizing marijuana in Florida. So do their running mates, Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz.
A new ad, titled “We’re All Saying the Same Thing,” cuts together supportive comments from all four political figures, and encourages Florida voters to pass Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana for adults.
The ad splices together comments from Trump dating back to 2015, when he said marijuana enforcement should be a state issue, and more recently when the Florida resident endorsed Amendment 3 and said he will vote for it this Fall.
“The way they’re doing it in Florida, I think, is going to be actually good,” Trump said in a clip speaking to podcaster Lex Fridman.
It then cuts to Harris being interviewed on the All the Smoke podcast, where she endorsed federal decriminalization.
“People should not be going to jail for smoking weed,” she said. “We need to legalize it and stop criminalizing this behavior.”
Similarly, when Vance ran successfully for U.S. Senate in 2022, he said he didn’t “want anybody going to prison for smoking a joint.” And Walz as Minnesota Governor signed a law last year legalizing adult use of cannabis in his home state. The Smart & Safe Florida ad includes clips of both men explaining their positions.
“Amendment 3 isn’t about political parties or red v. blue identities,” said Morgan Hill, Smart & Safe Florida spokesperson.
“Supporting the legalization of recreational adult use marijuana is about upholding the principles of individual freedom and liberty that our country was founded upon. Amendment 3 will end the unjust and unneeded arrests of individuals who consume marijuana for personal use, give adults the right to make their own choices, and honor the core values that define the Free State of Florida and our nation.”
A video that runs nearly a minute and a half goes on to show a wider spectrum of political figures supporting either broad marijuana legalization or Amendment 3 specifically. The list includes the Libertarian Party of Florida, former Republican Party of Florida Chair Joe Gruters, Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young and Last Prisoner Project Policy Manager Adrian Rocha.
“We’re all saying the same thing,” a caption on screen states. “No one should be arrested for small amounts of marijuana.”
7 comments
Brian Kelly
October 2, 2024 at 10:26 am
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!
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!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
Every major poll in the nation shows that The Vast Majority of Americans favor The Legalization of Cannabis Nationwide!
“Americans Favor Legalizing Cannabis Support surged 10 percentage points in past year””
-Gallup Poll
“A solid majority of voters nationwide favor legalizing and regulating cannabis similar to the way alcohol and tobacco cigarettes are currently regulated. Most also dont believe it should be a crime for people to smoke cannabis in the privacy of their own homes”
-Rasmussen Poll
“Americans favor making cannabis legal for adults, according to the findings of a CNN/ORC International survey released late Monday. The percentage is the highest ever reported by the survey, which has been tracking public opinion on the issue since 1973, and marks a 12 percentage point jump in support since the last time pollsters posed the question in 2012”
-CNN Poll
“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
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October 2, 2024 at 11:26 am
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Ray Blacklidge
October 2, 2024 at 12:27 pm
I recently stayed at a formerly nice Marriot in Winchester CO, just outside of Denver CO. We have dogs and staff suggested we use the rear entrance. Outside the rear entrance several chairs were placed where numerous people came out to smoke “Legal marijuana“ That was as uncomfortable as walking through a smoking area set up for cigarette smokers. The next morning the free breakfast was crowded with all sorts of unsavory people. Some people came down looked at the characters sitting around and in their nice business clothes turned around and went back to their rooms. Bottom line Legalizing Pot would be just as bad as our pain pill mills to Florida. My two bits…
Brian Kelly
October 2, 2024 at 12:53 pm
Nimby Karen, if the hotel you stay at allows it and has the chairs set up and you don’t approve then simply don’t patronize that hotel again. “Problem” solved and resolved for you.
Furthermore: Anecdotal “Horror Stories” coming from vehemently vocal anti-cannabis types carry little weight.
Such “Horror Stories” and scare-tactics don’t frighten, fool, nor convince anybody who has at least half a brain and has their very own internet access with Google.
Just saying…
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.
The Prohibition of relatively benign cannabis and Reefer Madness are only pushed and believed by a very small, lunatic-fringe minority of irrational weirdos that apparently are on a never ending little personal moral-crusade and witch-hunt against relatively benign cannabis and it’s consumers. The rest of us sane, rational, normal Americans just laugh our butts off at and mock utterly desperate lying prohibitionists and their ridiculous Reefer-Madness-Rhetoric as the comedy show they truly are!
Brian Kelly
October 2, 2024 at 1:07 pm
We can’t just arrest, lock up and hand out life long permanent criminal records to everyone who. heaven forbid, “looks unsavory” to you. Sound fair and reasonable?
What we can do instead to help you out in your case: WhAAmbulace has been dispatched just for you!
Brian Kelly
October 2, 2024 at 1:08 pm
Name calling and stereotyping. It’s all that prohibitionists have left to offer society since virtually every piece of cannabis propaganda out there has been thoroughly debunked, and completely dismissed by a smarter than prohibitionists thought public.
Nobody can provide a real reason to continue the “War on Cannabis” because there isn’t one.
You know, a little live and let live goes a real long way towards ensuring a very long, stress and anger free life.
If somebody doesn’t approve of cannabis, then by all means, that person shouldn’t consume cannabis. Nobody is ever going to force anybody to consume cannabis that doesn’t desire to. Plain and simple. Problem solved.
Let’s allow other hard-working, tax paying adults to make their own choices about cannabis.
The government has no business attempting to legislate morality by creating victim-less cannabis “crimes” because it simply doesn’t work and has already cost the taxpayers a fortune.
A long list of successful people have admitted to partaking in cannabis in their lives, including:
BILL GATES
“As for drugs – well, Gates was certainly not unusual there. cannabis was the pharmaceutical of choice…”
(Source: Gates: How Microsoft’s Mogul Reinvented an Industry–and Made Himself the Richest Man in America)
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
“I wouldn’t answer the cannabis questions. You know why? Because I don’t want some little kid doing what I tried.”
(Source: New York Times)
OPRAH WINFREY
“To kick things off, [television show host Andy Cohen] asked the last time Winfrey had smoked cannabis. ‘Uh … 1982,’ Winfrey replied. ‘Let’s hang out after the show,’ Cohen joked. ‘Okay,’ Winfrey laughed. ‘I hear it’s gotten better.'”
(Source: Bravo)
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
“I experimented with cannabis a time or two.”
(Source: YouTube)
ASSOCIATE SUPREME COURT JUSTICE CLARENCE
“The White House said today that Judge Clarence Thomas, President Bush’s Supreme Court nominee, had smoked cannabis while in college.”
(Source: New York Times)
STEPHEN COLBERT
“First, [in high school], I smoked a lot of pot…and that’s how I got to know the people ‘half in’ the society of my high school and we waved at each other over the bong. Then I got to know people by making jokes.”
(Source: San Francisco Chronicle Interview (January 2006))
JON STEWART
“Do you know how many movies I wrote when I was high?”
JOHN KERRY
“Yes.” [In response to the question: “Which of you are ready to admit to having used cannabis in the past?”]
(Source: On The Issues)
GEORGE SOROS
“He said he had tried cannabis, enjoyed it, ‘but it did not become a habit and I have not tasted it in many years.'”
(Source: Reuters, 2/6/97)
BILL MAHER
“Look, I have never made a secret of the fact that I have tried cannabis… About 50,000 times.”
(Source: YouTube)
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO
“I did experiment with cannabis when I was a youth.”
(Source: New York Daily News)
SEN. RAND PAUL
(Source: GQ Magazine)
SANJAY GUPTA
“I have tried it.”
(Source: CNN)
GEORGE CLOONEY
“The owner of a local cannabis café told reporters George Clooney was no stranger there.”
(Source: The Weed Blog)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
”You bet I did. And I enjoyed it.”
(Source: New York Times)
The list goes on and on.
LivelyUpYourself
October 2, 2024 at 1:20 pm
It truly takes a special kind of breed of self-entitled, privileged, self-righteous nutjob to want to have people locked up for looking unsavory. Wow, just wow!
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