Tag: marijuana legalization

Florida Sen. Rick Scott says he’ll vote against recreational pot after brother’s death

Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida says he’ll be voting in November against a ballot amendment to legalize recreational marijuana in his state, a deeply personal decision based on his brother’s long history of addiction.

The senator and former Florida governor said he watched his brother Roger Scott begin smoking marijuana as a teenager and then struggle with substance use for the rest of life.

“People end up with addictive personalities, and so he did,” Scott said in an interview. “It messes up your life, and so that’s why I’ve never supported legalization of drugs.”

When Roger Scott died in April at 67, the cause wasn’t substance abuse, but rather “a life of drugs and alcohol” catching up with him, the senator said. He had lived in an apartment in Dallas, Texas, where he served jail time in 1990 on a misdemeanor conviction of possessing dangerous drugs, court records show.

Rick Scott became wealthy as a lawyer and health care industry executive before entering politics. Now running for reelection, he lamented that his brother had a “tough life” and says it all began with marijuana.

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DEA Marijuana Rescheduling Hearing Delayed Until 2025, Agency Judge Rules

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) hearing on the Biden administration’s marijuana rescheduling proposal is being delayed until 2025, Marijuana Moment has learned.

After DEA Administrator Anne Millgram signed off on over two dozen witnesses to participate in the hearing on Monday, Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) John Mulrooney issued a preliminary order on Thursday signaling that the information provided on those set to testify was insufficient and requesting additional details and potential availability for a formal hearing in January or February 2025.

When the Justice Department proposed moving cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III in March following a scientific review, advocates and stakeholders had hoped the rule would be finalized this year. And DEA did schedule the hearing for December 2—after the presidential election but before the January inauguration that will see an administrative changeup.

Now the latest order from Mulrooney clarifies that won’t be the case.

The reason being is that DEA’s list of hearing participants who were selected and sent to the ALJ’s office provided “no indication in the four corners of the document as to whether the ‘participants’ support or oppose the [notice of proposed rulemaking] or how the ‘participants’ satisfy the ‘interested person’ definition set forth in the regulations,” the judge’s order says.

“Indeed, the [Participant Letter] contains only a list of persons and organizations accompanied by one or more email addresses, without the benefit of notices of appearance, addresses, or even phone numbers,” it says.

The order from the DEA ALJ says that selected participants must provide such details by November 12. DEA is mandated to provide “its counsel(s) of record who will be appearing in these proceedings, as well as any known conflicts of interest that may require disclosure” on the same date.

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GOP Congressman Who Was Arrested For Marijuana Says He’ll Vote Against Florida Legalization Ballot Initiative

A GOP congressman who was previously arrested over marijuana says he will be voting against a Florida ballot initiative to legalize cannabis for adults in the state.

In an interview with Florida’s Voice on Friday, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) weighed in on several ballot measures on ballot for next month’s election. And while he said last month that he was undecided on marijuana legalization, the congressman has now affirmed he will be a “no” vote on the initiative.

“I’m opposed to it. I think if you’re going to do something like this, this is something that the legislature should weigh in on, similar to what happened with medical marijuana about a decade ago,” he said. “It should not go into the Constitution.”

In fact, Florida voters did overwhelmingly approve medical marijuana legalization as a constitutional amendment at the ballot in 2016. The legislature helped to facilitate its implementation after the fact and has continued to build upon the reform, but it was added to the Constitution via voters after years of inaction by lawmakers, as advocates hope will be the case with adult-use legalization this year, too.

“I think when you get into these types of policy issues—and no matter how you feel about marijuana or abortion—those are policy issues,” Donalds said, also referring to a reproductive rights measure that’s on the ballot in his state. “They’re not constitutional issues, and I think that’s left to the hands of the legislature and the governor. That’s what should happen.”

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Legalizing Marijuana Does Not Jeopardize Mental Health, Studies Show, Contrary To Opponents’ Alarmist Claims 

Opponents of marijuana legalization often allege that jurisdictions that have legalized adult-use marijuana sales experience subsequent rises in incidences of cannabis-induced psychosis and other adverse mental health consequences. But nearly a decade worth of scientific data from Canada and the United States refutes this contention.

For instance, a study published last year in an imprint of the Journal of the American Medical Association evaluated the relationship between U.S. legalization laws and psychosis rates in more than 63 million privately insured individuals. Researchers described it as the “largest [study] to quantify the association of medical and recreational cannabis policies with rates of psychosis-related health care claims across US states.”

Investigators concluded: “State medical and recreational cannabis policies were not associated with a statistically significant increase in rates of psychosis-related health outcomes.”

They’re not alone in this determination. A just-published consensus study compiled by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine concluded, “There is insufficient evidence of an association between cannabis policy and changes in mental and behavioral health.”

And new data from Canada, published this month in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology determined that cannabis-related emergency department visits declined among schizophrenia patients following Canada’s adoption of adult-use marijuana legalization.

“Our findings suggest that regulatory measures accompanying legalization could enhance the quality and safety of cannabis products, potentially leading to fewer adverse health outcomes in vulnerable patient populations,” the study’s authors wrote. “Furthermore, our study indicates that legalization and cannabis regulation, in certain contexts, may help reduce acute care utilization in vulnerable patient groups.”

Their findings are particularly relevant because it is well established that those suffering from schizophrenia, psychosis and similar conditions tend to consume cannabis, tobacco and other controlled substances at rates higher than those in the general population. Data also suggests that, in some cases, cannabis use may exacerbate symptoms of psychosis or even trigger a psychotic episode in those predisposed to it. Therefore, regulatory strategies that better educate, target and protect this vulnerable population is critically important.

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DeSantis Stirs Pot Again With More Anti-Marijuana Ads Funded By Taxpayers, Including One Linking Cannabis To Domestic Violence

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is facing new allegations of weaponizing state agencies with taxpayer-funded ads to support his campaign to defeat a marijuana legalization initiative that voters will decide on at the ballot next month.

In an ad from the Department of Transportation (DOT), three sheriffs make various claims about the harms of cannabis—including one who suggests that marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of domestic violence, contrary to research on the topic.

“When we make home visits for domestic violence calls, they’re often associated with marijuana use,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

Duval County Sheriff T.K. Waters said in the PSA, first reported by Seeking Rents, that there are “too many kids going to the ER because of weed gummies and joints laced with fentanyl.”

In one of the only statements from the sheriffs that seems directly relevant to DOT, Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said “we see more traffic collisions and fatalities because of driving high.”

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After Locking Up 1000s For Weed Possession, Kamala Harris Patronizes Black Men In Pot Pandering Scheme

On track to post Democrats’ worst presidential-election performance with blacks in 64 years, a desperate Kamala Harris smashed the vote-buying button on Monday, proposing an “Opportunity Agenda” for black men that includes dishing out one million “forgivable loans” at $20,000 each. 

The loans would be offered to black entrepreneurs “in partnership with trusted organizations like mission-driven lenders and banks with a proven commitment to their communities,” the Harris-Walz campaign said. If these “forgivable loans” are anything like the ones dished out to businesses during the madness of Covid stimulus, they’ll be loans in name only — meaning this is just a blatant wealth redistribution scheme aimed at buying black votes.  

Unsurprisingly, the campaign provided few details about the program’s requirements — such as just how black one will need to be to qualify.

The pledge comically evidences Harris’ generationally-terrible poll numbers among blacks. Consider that, in 2012, President Obama owned the black vote by an 85-point margin. Today, Harris is up by just 54 points. The numbers are even worse among black men age 18 to 45: Obama won by 81, and Harris is up 41. Among all black men and women, Harris is poised to have the lowest share of the black vote since John F. Kennedy faced Richard Nixon in 1960.  

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Florida Senator Sues State Over Anti-Marijuana Ad, Alleging Unconstitutional Use Of Taxpayer Dollars Ahead Of Legalization Vote

A Florida Democratic senator is suing the state for using taxpayer dollars to fund a recent ad that he says unconstitutionally attempts to influence voters to oppose a marijuana legalization initiative that will be on the ballot next month.

Sen. Jason Pizzo (D), who is expected to run for governor in 2026, announced on Friday that he would be seeking an injunction against the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) over the ad, which warns against driving under the influence of cannabis and then makes a contested claim that “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.”

Making such an assertion in an ad supported by tax dollars amounts to “political messaging” and therefore represents an unconstitutional use of appropriations authority, the senator says. The campaign behind the Florida legalization initiative has also sent cease and desist letters to 54 TV stations that have aired the public service announcement.

“For years, our state has wasted precious time, and many millions, peddling divisive and unproductive nonsense, while flouting practical solutions for critical needs,” Pizzo said.

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Harris Campaign Omits Marijuana From New Issues Page As Trump Earns Praise For Backing Legalization

As the cannabis world reacts to former President Donald Trump’s newly announced support for federal rescheduling, advocates are taking notice that a new, long-awaited issues page launched by the campaign of Vice President Kamala Harris omits any mention of marijuana policy reform despite her record promoting comprehensive legalization.

The issues page is fairly exhaustive, with details about her platform on taxes, affordable housing, health care, education, child care and more.

The new website section touches briefly on broader drug policy, noting that Harris is “committed to ending the opioid epidemic and tackling the scourge of fentanyl”—noting her record of going after “drug traffickers” as a prosecutor but also pointing out that when it comes to harm reduction, the Biden-Harris administration “made the overdose-reversal drug naloxone available over-the-counter.”

Notably absent, however, is any mention of her position on cannabis policy.

While Harris privately reaffirmed her support for legalization during a roundtable event at the White House event with marijuana pardon recipients—and she sponsored a bill to end federal prohibition during her time in the Senate—she’s been silent on the issue since President Joe Biden bowed out of the race and she became the nominee.

That seems to have created an opening for Trump, the 2024 Republican nominee, to seize the issue in recent weeks, culminating in a post he made on his social media site Truth Social on Sunday, where he embraced the Biden administration’s push to reschedule marijuana and also backed freeing up banks to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.

Trump also confirmed he would be voting in favor of a Florida ballot initiative to legalize marijuana as a resident of the state—another development that seems to run counter to the extreme anti-drug rhetoric he’s previously promoted during the campaign.

The prior Biden-Harris campaign had made several attempts to contrast the administration’s marijuana reform actions with those of the Trump administration, pointing out for example that his former attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had rescinded Obama era guidance that generally encouraged prosecutorial discretion in federal marijuana enforcement.

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Marijuana Legalization Is A ‘Significant Threat’ To Alcohol Industry Because People Substitute Cannabis For Beer And Wine, Analysis Finds

Financial analysts say they expect the expansion of the marijuana legalization movement will continue to post a “significant threat” to the alcohol industry, citing survey data that suggests more people are using cannabis as a substitute for alcoholic beverages such a beer and wine.

A report from Bloomberg Intelligence (BI) projects that slumping sales of wine and spirits “may extend indefinitely,” which will “stem largely” from the increased consumer access to “legal cannabis,” as well as rising popularity of made-to-go drinks, for example.

They estimated that the combined influence of cannabis access and shifts in consumer demand for certain alcoholic product types accounts for a 16 percent share valuation discount offered by the beverage company Constellation Brands, which owns major brands including Corona, Modelo, Pacifico and Casa Nobel Tequila.

“The use of cannabis among consumers is on the rise, and we believe it’s being substituted for alcoholic beverages” based on an August 21 survey from BI involving 1,000 adults, it said. “We also anticipate that increasing US consumer access to recreational marijuana will be a significant threat to all alcoholic drinks, particularly beer and wine, given their lower price points relative to liquor.”

According to the survey, nearly half of respondents reported using cannabis as an alcohol substitute at least once per week. Additionally, 22 percent said they use marijuana more often than alcohol.

Meanwhile, a multinational investment bank similarly said in a report late last year that marijuana has become a “formidable competitor” to alcohol, projecting that nearly 20 million more people will regularly consume cannabis over the next five years as booze loses a couple million drinkers. It also says marijuana sales are estimated to reach $37 billion in 2027 in the U.S. as more state markets come online.

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DeSantis Doubles Down On Opposition To Florida Marijuana Legalization As State And National Polls Show Bipartisan Support

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) doubles down on his opposition campaign against a marijuana legalization initiative that will appear on the November ballot, a prominent conservative pollster is reminding his party that the issue enjoys sizable bipartisan support. And a fresh poll out of Florida shows the legalization measure passing by a comfortable margin.

DeSantis caught flak from cannabis advocates and industry stakeholders on Thursday after calling the proposed marijuana reform that Floridians will get a chance to decide on “bad policy and even worse constitutional law.” He also accused the major cannabis company Trulieve of financially supporting the legalization campaign so that it “gets a constitutionally-protected monopoly on the market,” arguing that Amendment 3 was “written by” the company’s CEO Kim Rivers.

This comes a week after top DeSantis staffer and Rivers feuded over the state legalization initiative, drawing attention to the anti-cannabis governor’s position on home cultivation, which would not be legalized under the reform measure.

But overall polling—both nationally and at the state-level—raise questions about the political thinking behind the governor’s ongoing vocal opposition to cannabis reform. While not all surveys have shown the measure reaching the steep 60 percent threshold needed to enact a constitutional amendment at the ballot under Florida law, it has consistently proved popular among a majority of Floridians.

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