For Immediate Release: October 9, 2024
ICYMI: Miami Herald, Orlando Sentinel Editorial Boards Endorse Amendment 3
Support continues to surge in campaign to legalize adult use recreational marijuana
(Orlando, FL) – In case you missed it, yesterday, the Miami Herald Editorial Board endorsed Amendment 3 on the November ballot, and the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board did likewise today. Their endorsements underscore the broad array of support behind legalizing regulated adult use marijuana in the state of Florida, becoming the third and fourth major Editorial Boards in the state to endorse Amendment 3.
Writing that the government for over 50 years “has been fighting a war on drugs that most people agree has failed,” the Miami Herald Editorial Board outlined that antiquated drug policies have “focused too often on street arrests of young people of color who spent years in prison for small amounts of marijuana while violent cartels bringing in opioids, cocaine and fentanyl — among the most dangerous drugs — continued doing business.” Now, however, the Miami Herald Editorial Board argued that Florida has the opportunity to chart a new path forward for the state, standing to gain about $200 million in sales tax revenues in the first full year of Amendment 3’s passage and as much as $431 million a year later.
“Now Floridians have a chance to help police direct their resources to where they will matter more — to combat killer drugs — and allow the legal use of marijuana products for adults 21 and older. This can be done with proper monitoring, just as the state oversees the sale of alcohol and tobacco products. Constitutional Amendment 3 proposes to expand Florida’s already legal use of medical marijuana (38 states allow it) to recreational use for adults,” The Miami Herald Editorial Board wrote. “… The Miami Herald Editorial Board recommends voting YES on Amendment 3 for the safe and regulated use of recreational marijuana for adults.”
You can read the entire endorsement by the Miami Herald Editorial Board HERE.
The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, meanwhile, echoed sentiments from its partnered paper, the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Two questions: Is it time to stop criminalizing users? Should the sale and possession of small amounts be legalized and regulated to protect Floridians from dangerously adulterated weed? We believe the answer to both questions is ‘yes,’” the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board wrote. “We also believe that Florida should say yes to the hundreds of millions of dollars in sales-tax revenue and potentially billions in economic benefits marijuana sales could have. And it should say no to the drug lords currently running the underground cannabis market with its byproducts of violence and intimidation.”
You can read the entire endorsement by the Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board HERE.
The endorsements from each Editorial Board adds to a growing coalition behind passing Amendment 3, including local leaders and advocates from across the state and political spectrum. The endorsement joins that of the Editorial Boards for both the South Florida Sun Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times, ACLU of Florida, SEIU Florida, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans, the Florida Democratic Party, former President Donald Trump, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, Democratic Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young, Republican Bradford County Sheriff Gordon Smith, Republican State Sen. Joe Gruters, Democratic State Sen. Shev Jones, the Libertarian Party of Florida and many more.
“We are incredibly honored to have the endorsement of both the Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel Editorial Boards, strong signals that passing Amendment 3 is the best path forward for Florida,” said Morgan Hill, spokesperson for Smart & Safe Florida. “It’s clear that the future Florida can obtain by passing Amendment 3 is widely popular, and we look forward to growing our diverse array of support between now and Election Day.”
For more information about Smart & Safe Florida and the campaign to legalize adult use marijuana in Florida, please visit www.smartandsafeflorida.com.
