Why no home grow? Casey DeSantis contemplates ‘freedom argument’ in recreational pot debate

casey-desantis-hope1
'That's a fair one.'

First Lady Casey DeSantis continues her media tour against Florida’s Adult Personal Use of Marijuana constitutional amendment, and Tuesday’s iteration found her having to address the inaction of the Florida Legislature that could have forestalled it.

Radio host Bob Rose said the matter “should have never been put on the ballot,” before assigning blame to the supermajority Republican House and Senate, which knew Amendment 3 was a possibility but did little to preempt it with a legislative framework.

“Shouldn’t the Legislature have kind of headed this off at the pass? If they would have dealt with it and said, ‘Look, you can grow your own at home in small quantities. You can’t smoke it in public,’ they could have put it all together. But I think they lack some kind of courage and conviction in that area,” Rose postulated.

DeSantis didn’t anticipate the curve ball question, one of a few that she or Gov. Ron DeSantis have faced that didn’t just tee up talking points.

“Well, and so you, you say like, you know, the freedom argument and that’s a fair one. And again, this constitutional amendment doesn’t allow people to cultivate this at their house,” the former newscaster and talk show host said. She then found her grounding with more familiar arguments against the amendment rather than against the Florida Legislature, including inveighing against “corporate greed” and suggesting that “people would be coming” to Florida to partake in legal weed.

“They’re probably not even from the state of Florida,” she said, referencing hypothetical tourists blowing clouds on the beach near the children of the Sunshine State.

The Governor and the First Lady have talked much about how Amendment 3 doesn’t allow home cultivation, but very little about what the Legislature could have done to preempt the pot push.

The Florida House considered THC caps during the last Legislative Session, looking to blunt the product’s potency in case it was legalized for general, non-medical use. Gov. DeSantis has never supported caps, but has complained for years about the “stench” of marijuana.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski


14 comments

  • EARL PITTS AMERICAN

    October 29, 2024 at 9:31 pm

    Good evening America,
    While we, One & All, love the beautiful Casey DeSantis, lets delve into just why our elected Republican Senators & Represenatives “Dodged” taking the “BULL BY THE HORNS” and refused to “LEGISLATE” common sense Weed Laws.
    IT’S A LOT LESS COMPLEX THAN YOU THINK:
    Nikki Fried got them all “BY THE SHORT CURLEYS” back in the day & Seduced the vast majortiy to invest in TRUELEIVE and they failed FLORIDA by forcing it to go to a Citizen admendment “3” so they or their Mommas whose name they invested with TRUELEIVE under could get Stinky Rich.
    Had they Legislated the weed issue it would be a much better outcome for our citizens.
    Nikkie got our Republican legislators to stab our citizens in the back on weed so our Republican legislators (and Nikkie) could get stinky rich.
    That is all,
    THE SAGE EARL PITTS AMERICAN [FKA “E” – FKA ELVIS]

    Reply

  • YEW OWEME

    October 29, 2024 at 10:43 pm

    EARL, i can’t stand that phony skank casey desantis. you have poor taste dude.

    Reply

    • I Am Garbage.

      October 30, 2024 at 6:19 am

      Hilarious hillbilly. If you call Casey a skank, what then would you call Kammy? You truly are a dumb azz and probably need to be in a senior memory care facility with Joe.

      Reply

  • Betty Cracker

    October 30, 2024 at 6:16 am

    These are stupid arguments made by a quarter-wit for an even dumber audiences of moralizing hypocrites. As the radio host pointed out, Floridians can’t grow pot at home now, and we can thank Republicans for the status quo since they’ve had an iron lock on power in Florida for this entire century. If Amendment 3 passes, municipalities can enact ordinances to restrict where people can smoke pot. We don’t have those rules on the books now because pot is illegal currently — duh!

    Reply

  • Dont Say FLA

    October 30, 2024 at 7:23 am

    Whoops no home grow allowed? Okay. Fix that next time. It’s just not that hard, Mrs Rhonda. It’s just not that hard. Just fix that next time, allowing for all the home grow you could ever want, silly!

    Reply

    • Cheesy Floridian

      October 30, 2024 at 12:48 pm

      Or we pass amendment 3 and the state gov. writes a law that allows us to grow it at home

      Reply

  • MH/Duuuval

    October 30, 2024 at 9:19 am

    Any pot smokers out there worried about what Elvira DeSantis has to say on the subject?

    Reply

  • MH/Duuuval

    October 30, 2024 at 10:12 am

    By Skyler Swisher Orlando Sentinel
    A Trump-loving state senator and a Harris-supporting one pushed back Tuesday on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ assertions that Florida lawmakers would be powerless to regulate legal pot if voters approve Amendment 3 next week, saying they’ll be able to pass laws banning smoking weed in public.

    State Sens. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, and Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, said Tuesday in Orlando they don’t agree on much, but they back legalizing marijuana and think a bipartisan coalition in the Florida Legislature would pass common-sense regulations if the ballot amendment passes.

    Reply

    • MH/Duuuval

      October 30, 2024 at 10:13 am

      Gruters is in Dee’s doghouse because he has consistently supported DJT — including not endorsing Dee’s presidential flameout.

      Reply

      • MH/Duuuval

        October 30, 2024 at 5:34 pm

        Gruters and DJT congruent on pot — Dee is the odd boy out.

        Reply

  • Cheesy Floridian

    October 30, 2024 at 12:44 pm

    The Florida Constitution states that a citizen lead ballot initiative needs to be a single subject which Amendment 33 is; legalization. Once is legal and in our constitution the legislature’s job is to write bills and then debate them and then pass them with or without a governor signature into law. They can propose and sign a bill saying if and how many plants we can have at home. But if it’s still illegal and the legislature nor DeSantis have said or made any moves indicating that they will pass a law to legalize it or repeal the laws that make it illegal we won’t be able to grow it at home.

    Reply

  • Cheesy Floridian

    October 30, 2024 at 12:47 pm

    And if you feel that the current make-up of elected officials aren’t going to bring to the table and pass legislation on issues like this this is the time right now where we can vote them out. Please take a look at the UK, they had a 10 year run with the same gov. party and a lot of people said they didn’t necessarily like the other party but they were tired of the same old BS from the party that had been in power the longest. So if you apply the same mindset to Florida, the GOP have been in power for 20+ years now, maybe it’s time we have a more purple makeup or a more blue or independent make up of our state legislature.

    Reply

    • MH/Duuuval

      October 30, 2024 at 2:46 pm

      Plus, the so-called Conservatives practically destroyed the government agencies depended on by the elderly, children, and those with disabilities. Not to mention gutting the National Health Service and attempting to send asylum seekers to Rwanda..

      Reply

      • MH/Duuuval

        October 30, 2024 at 5:37 pm

        The former head doofus of the Conservative party in the UK will speak in Jax soon.

        Carl Hiaasen also is on the program later in the year, and knows all about Florida Man and his criminal proclivities.

        Reply

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