Jacob Ogles
A new campaign ad promoting a recreational marijuana amendment fact-checks critics — and does so with a Republican leader’s voice.
Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican, looks to the camera in “Blowing Smoke,” a 30-second ad from the Smart & Safe Florida Campaign. The former Republican Party of Florida Chair takes on a number of accusations, many of them made by Gov. Ron DeSantis, about what Amendment 3 would mean for Florida if it passes.
“I led the fight to ban smoking on Florida’s public beaches,” Gruters says, “so trust me, these attacks about Amendment 3 are just blowing smoke.”
Gruters spent years on legislation that ultimately authorized local governments to regulate cigarette smoking in public parks. When the Republican endorsed Amendment 3 earlier this year, he said the Legislature in enacting legislation decriminalizing cannabis could restrict where it gets smoked, just like tobacco.
“Florida will do marijuana legalization the right way,” Gruters says in the ad. “Smoking marijuana or anything else in public should be illegal.”
DeSantis has said the amendment if it passes will leave lawmakers hamstrung, unable to stop smoking weed at schools, much less beaches.
“I think it’s basically going to green light marijuana usage in all these different parts of the state where we don’t want that to happen,” DeSantis told reporters in April.
Amendment 3 backers have pushed back on those assertions and others.
“The truth is central to this campaign, and as we approach Election Day, it’s important for us to call out which arguments are simply blowing smoke,” said Morgan Hill, Smart & Safe spokesperson.
“Instead of arguing in good-faith, opponents of Amendment 3 are using scare tactics to keep Floridians from enjoying the same individual freedoms and access to safe, lab-tested marijuana that over half the country, in 24 states and D.C., already enjoys.”
Gruters reiterates that in the ad, saying lawmakers can regulate recreational pot the same as was done with medical marijuana when voters put that in Florida’s constitution in 2016.
“Amendment 3 gives adults the freedom to use safe regulated marijuana all while protecting our public spaces, so don’t buy the lies,” Gruters said.
12 comments
Brian Kelly
October 11, 2024 at 6:57 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!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
States “rights” has become just a clever excuse, disguise and blanket authority being used for a very small minority of irrational prohibitionists to be able to criminalize everything that they personally don’t morally approve of. Same with abortion and even books that they don’t morally approve of, and they have the nerve to call it states “rights”.
The only “right” states rights provide is the right of a very small minority to criminalize anything they don’t morally approve of in their individual home states. It needs to end now! It’s like having 50 different countries with different laws instead of a “United” States.
States rights=Criminalization of the citizens by a very small lunatic fringe minority of irrational prohibitionists whom have self righteously appointed themselves as self deputized morality police over everyone else.
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!
Ron Ogden
October 12, 2024 at 5:21 am
Whether Trump or Gruters or anyone else, they are wrong to support this amendment, which will only create another lane on the highway to inebriation while simultaneously making billionaires of a handful of Floridians who already have profited enormously from Florida’s multibillion dollar medical marijuana industry. This is another example of how America demands rights of every kind while never once mentioning the concomitant need for social responsibility. Where there is anarchy on the one hand and billions on the other, America’s leadership class will support it.
Brian Kelly
October 12, 2024 at 10:40 am
Why do you feel justified in endlessly wasting billions upon billions of our yearly federal tax dollars continuing to arrest, criminalize, incarcerate, and hand out life long permanent criminal records to otherwise hard-working, tax-paying, adult citizens for choosing to consume cannabis although it is far safer than perfectly legal, widely accepted alcohol?
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.
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!
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.
Ron Ogden
October 12, 2024 at 6:48 pm
Brian Kelly wishes us to think he is some kind of scientific authority on the topic, and perhaps he has some pretentions to that since there is a Brian Kelly who is a long-term and very vocal promoter of pot, but if he is such a scientist, then perhaps he will address this snippet from the journal “Drug and Alcohol Dependence” of July 2010:
“. . .the risk of developing cannabis dependence is about 1 in 10 among those who ever use the drug and rises to around one in two among daily users (Hall and Pacula, 2003). As far as we know, no systematic attempts have been made to identify what constitutes a safe level of use. Given the prevalence of cannabis use and the extent of potential problems, however, there is clearly a need for suitable instruments to identify problematic cannabis use.”
In other words, the pro pot people don’t know what they are talking about, at least in terms of “problematic cannabis use” unless, of course, problematic cannabis use means not using enough.
Brian Kelly
October 13, 2024 at 7:56 am
Wow, Very impressive fear mongering there, Ronny! Quoting an obviously bias prohibitionist organization with an obvious anti-legalization agenda to trying so very desperately to push upon the pubic (just like you!) lol Now, do the same about far more addictive and deadly yet perfectly legal alcohol. More people become “dependent” on caffeine relatively benign cannabis.
If I were you Ronny, and worried so much about “saving all of us” adults from ourselves, well then, I’d begin with the deadliest drug. Which causes more broken homes, domestic violence, and traffic fatalities than all other drugs, combined. That most dangerous and deadly drug is alcohol.
Yet alcohol remains perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised, even glorified as an All American pastime.
Why doesn’t the much more prevalent, far more widely abused, use of alcohol concern you much more than marijuana which is a relatively benign drug when compared to all other ones?
Protesting the legality of booze should be your number one priority if you are truly so concerned about “saving us all” from ourselves.
“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
Eric Miller
October 13, 2024 at 8:23 am
Lane to inebriation is already there – If you want to be safe – protect yourself – the Gubberment is not going to do it for you. Especially when people ignore the Lawmakers anyway. They are near meaning less anymore. No One Is Listening !
Brian Kelly
October 13, 2024 at 8:37 am
Cannabis Consumers Are Not Criminals!
End the systematically failed both state and federal policies of criminalizing consumers of a natural, relatively benign plant, proven to be far safer than perfectly legal, widely accepted alcohol and tobacco.
End The Federal Prohibition of Cannabis Now!
Legalize Nationwide! State by state if need be!
It’s time our country wakes up and learns from our history.
Prohibition does not prevent people from consuming cannabis. The demand will be there always and therefore cannabis will always be served up to the public regardless of cannabis prohibition laws. The alcohol prohibition era criminal organizations and gangsters such as Al Capone of yesteryear are the Pablo Escobar, El Chapo and drug cartels of today.
The Temperance Movement didn’t catch on and last in part because it was a dead horse from the start.
Prohibition only serves to further fuel the vast wealth and corruption, violence and death attributed to the criminal organizations which flourish under it. By providing cannabis to meet the continual demand at inflated prices. Just like with alcohol, cannabis prohibition doesn’t work, makes no sense, and costs the tax payers a fortune yearly.
Legalization creates jobs, improves the economy and let’s us as a nation focus the wasted resources currently used to criminalize citizens over cannabis towards things much more needed and useful.
This is how freedoms get taken away from The People. First, a small minority doesn’t morally approve of cannabis. Tomorrow, it’s R-Rated movies, certain books and literature and eventually that minority aspires to make every citizen conform to their personal sense of morality through laws which criminalize everything that they personally don’t approve of.
Tell us something prohibitionists:
Why do you feel justified in endlessly wasting billions upon billions of our yearly federal tax dollars continuing to arrest, criminalize, incarcerate, and hand out life long permanent criminal records to otherwise hard-working, tax-paying, adult citizens for choosing to consume cannabis although it is far safer than perfectly legal, widely accepted alcohol?
Shouldn’t their first and foremost priority be protesting the legality of alcohol if they really aren’t just biased and truly so “concerned” about other people on what those whom oppose cannabis legalization deem to be a “dangerous drug”?
Why do the anti-cannabis folk apply such a blatantly obvious unfair double standard to far less dangerous cannabis that they obviously don’t apply equally to far more deadly, dangerous and harmful yet perfectly legal, widely accepted alcohol?
Legalize Nationwide!
Eric Miller
October 13, 2024 at 8:20 am
Kiss The Ring and Listen To “Chucky Cheese” – The RAT Gruters. Let the people deal with it – w do not need government painting lines on the ground. The State has way too much control anyway. Let the people in the Counties decide if they want to “REGULATE” it at all. He says he is Republican – NOPE – he is a RINO all the way through. HE WANTS CONTROL
Brian Kelly
October 13, 2024 at 8:35 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!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
States “rights” has become just a clever excuse, disguise and blanket authority being used for a very small minority of irrational prohibitionists to be able to criminalize everything that they personally don’t morally approve of. Same with abortion and even books that they don’t morally approve of, and they have the nerve to call it states “rights”.
The only “right” states rights provide is the right of a very small minority to criminalize anything they don’t morally approve of in their individual home states. It needs to end now! It’s like having 50 different countries with different laws instead of a “United” States.
States rights=Criminalization of the citizens by a very small lunatic fringe minority of irrational prohibitionists whom have self righteously appointed themselves as self deputized morality police over everyone else.
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!
Brian Kelly
October 13, 2024 at 8:39 am
States “rights” has become just a clever excuse, disguise and blanket authority being used for a very small minority of irrational prohibitionists to be able to criminalize everything that they personally don’t morally approve of. Same with abortion and even books that they don’t morally approve of, and they have the nerve to call it states “rights”.
The only “right” states rights provide is the right of a very small minority to criminalize anything they don’t morally approve of in their individual home states. It needs to end now! It’s like having 50 different countries with different laws instead of a “United” States.
States rights=Criminalization of the citizens by a very small lunatic fringe minority of irrational prohibitionists whom have self righteously appointed themselves as self deputized morality police over everyone else.
Cheesy Floridian
October 14, 2024 at 3:44 pm
Do you mean DeSantis? the man loves control and power
Cheesy Floridian
October 14, 2024 at 3:37 pm
Freedom or no freedom? It’s that simple. We have the opportunity to turn something that is illegal for many into something that is legal and will generate tax dollars for our state. vote yes on 3 for freedom
Comments are closed.