If former President Donald Trump were to endorse Florida's marijuana legalization initiative, known as Amendment 3, ahead of the upcoming November 2024 election, it would effectively "guarantee victory" for the measure, according to Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally and GOP political operative, reported Marijuana Moment's Kyle Jaeger.
When asked last week at a press conference in Mar-a-Lago about Florida's legalization effort, Trump kept it vague. "Florida has something coming up. I'll be making a statement about that fairly soon." Though, he added, "As we legalize it throughout the country ... it's awfully hard to have people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that's legal."
While not explicitly endorsing the Florida legalization measure, he didn't denounce it either, despite fierce opposition to it from GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
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Remember Roger Stone?
The self-proclaimed GOP "agent provocateur," Stone has been a fervent advocate for cannabis reform despite his admiration for Richard Nixon who launched the War on Drugs in 1968, which put the U.S. on a punitive path led by the DEA.
Stone seemed to believe Trump would likely maintain his broader (read "vague") position that marijuana policy should be determined by individual states without federal interference. Stone told Marijuana Moment in the phone interview that if Trump endorses the initiative, it would secure its passage, though a neutral stance from the former president could make the outcome more contentious.
Stone noted that Trump's recognition of cannabis' medicinal value aligns with his broader pro-choice perspective on personal freedoms, with the exception of women's right to choose — an issue Trump threw under the bus in exchange for the fundamentalist Christian vote.
While Trump's recent remarks suggest a shift in his views on criminalizing marijuana users, they are consistent with his criminal justice reforms during his presidency.
Stone concluded to the outlet that Florida's conservative legislature is unlikely to pass adult-use legalization anytime soon, making Amendment 3 a crucial step toward reform.
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Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Shealah Craighead on Wikimedia Commons and Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash