Florida Senate Democratic Caucus endorses Amendment 3

Members of the Florida Democratic Senate caucus came out formally in support of Amendment 3 on Monday — the constitutional amendment that would legalize recreational use of cannabis in Florida that’s on the Nov. 5 ballot.

“This isn’t strictly a partisan issue,” incoming Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo from South Florida said in kicking off the Zoom press conference.

“Amendment 3 will garner more votes from registered voters on Nov. 5 than any candidate, and that’s the bottom line, and that certainly doesn’t happen just by registered Democratic voters, NPAs, or Republicans alone,” he later added.

Pizzo’s prediction that the measure will draw bipartisan support has been reflected in polls as well as in endorsements – none bigger than from the most consequential Republican in the country, former President Donald J. Trump, who came out and formally backed the measure on Sunday night.

But the proposal is adamantly opposed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, as well as the Republican Party of Florida and the Florida Sheriffs Association.

The Vote No on 3 campaign released their first television ad this weekend, alleging that the proposal “isn’t the marijuana amendment, it’s the monopoly amendment,” a reference to the fact that Trulieve, the state’s biggest marijuana company, has spent more than $60 million to get the measure over the finish line this fall.

In response, Orange County Democratic Sen.-elect Carlos Guillermo Smith insisted there is nothing in Amendment 3’s language that would preclude the Legislature from removing the state’s “vertical integration” of the cannabis industry, which requires that a company must control every aspect of its cannabis operations.

He said it would be preferable if companies could compete for just one part of the business operation, such as distribution, retail, or cultivation. Despite legal and legislative challenges, the vertical integration requirement continues to exist.