Joe Gruters eviscerates recreational pot initiative opponent at USF forum

If it were a boxing match, the white towel would have been thrown before the first bell.

The University of South Florida’s (USF) Institute for Public Policy & Leadership hosted an Amendment 3 forum this week pitting Sen. Joe Gruters against former Sarasota political operative turned blogger Jamie Miller, who was there representing the opposition, although its important to note that Miller is not affiliated with the official No on 3 campaign.

To say it was a massacre would be an understatement.

Amendment 3 is one of the biggest items on this year’s ballot. The initiative would legalize recreational pot for adults, building on Floridians’ decision in 2016 to legalize medical marijuana.

And in an era where political polarization is as high as ever, legalizing recreational pot is one rare area of agreement between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

The bipartisan support goes deeper as well. Enter Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who has become one of the most effective messengers for the recreational marijuana amendment. During the USF event, Gruters took Miller to the woodshed spewing a litany of statistics while dispelling misinformation coming out of the Governor’s Office that no Floridians go to prison for consuming or possessing marijuana.

The Tampa Bay Times recently reported that in 2022 prosecutors in Florida filed more than 16,000 charges against people for possession of small amounts of pot. “The lies being spewed about the amendment are just a few of the reasons people hate politics and politicians,” Gruters said.

Miller, on the other hand, fumbled and bumbled his way through the forum reading off prepared notes while offering little pushback to Gruters’ missives.

In one particularly embarrassing moment, Miller started reading the Amendment 3 text regarding liability protections not realizing it was the identical language used in 2016, when over 70% of Floridians voted to legalize medical marijuana.

Gruters started laughing and couldn’t help but toy with Miller, saying, “Thank you for reading that and here’s the drumline for the conclusion, that same language is already in the Constitution with the amendment that we passed eight years ago.”

Gruters, a close ally to Trump and a leading contender to be the state’s next Chief Financial Officer, has been all over the airwaves in recent weeks in support of Amendment 3. That comes as opponents to the measure, including Gov. Ron DeSantis and his allies, have gone on the offensive to undercut support for Amendment 3.

But like Miller, a lot of the opposition has relied on fearmongering or outright falsities to try and spook the public off supporting the measure.

A spate of recent polls, however, have shown the initiative right at or above the 60% support needed to pass come Tuesday, and with some additional undecided voters still weighing whether to vote “yes.”

And nationwide, support has grown sharply over recent decades, with a clear majority believing marijuana, like alcohol, should be legal for consenting adults.

That makes it crystal clear that the public is open to Florida’s pro-legalization pitch. And with strong messengers like Gruters helping to make the case, it gives the pro-Amendment 3 side the ability to close out this campaign on a high note.