Politics
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.”
WATCH: Congressman @ByronDonalds tells Drew Steele on Florida’s Voice he’s vehemently against amendments 3 & 4 pic.twitter.com/qkmgo5ZBLk
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) October 25, 2024
When asked about the issue last month—and specifically former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of the cannabis measure, Amendment 3, Donalds said he doesn’t believe voters are viewing marijuana reform through a “partisan lens.”
The congressman added at the time that the prospect of adult-use legalization in Florida could “create some issues,” but he feels the legislature would “work to kind of fix that in an implementing bill” if voters approve the ballot measure.
“This thing, it’s going to be worked out. The voters are going to make a decision here,” he said at the time.
Donalds’s record on the issue in Congress is mixed.
He’s voted in favor of marijuana banking legislation, as well as a bill to reduce restrictions on carrying out cannabis research. The congressman is also a cosponsor of a bill to protect gun rights for medical cannabis patients this session, and he’s twice cosponsored legislation to automatically seal criminal records for people convicted of non-violent marijuana offenses.
Donalds himself was arrested on cannabis distribution charges in 1997, but the charges were dropped in 2000 as part of a pre-trial diversion program.
That makes his opposition to Amendment 3 all the more notable, as Floridians would continue to be criminalized as he was over marijuana if the measure fails. And while Donalds said it should be up to the legislature and governor to decide on the policy change, the conservative legislature—and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R)—have made clear they’re not interested in going beyond medical cannabis.
Despite having experienced a cannabis arrest himself, Donalds also voted against an amendment to prevent people from being denied security clearances over prior marijuana use—even though he’s able to receive classified briefings as a member of Congress regardless of his own history with cannabis. The congressman additionally voted against a bill to legalize marijuana in 2022.
Meanwhile, bipartisan Florida senators are hitting back at the governor over the use of taxpayer dollars to fund anti-marijuana ads ahead of the legalization vote—with one Republican member saying state agencies “owe an explanation” if reports are true that millions were diverted from an opioid-related settlement account to promote the cannabis “propaganda.”
Ads from multiple state agencies—including the Departments of Transportation, Education, Health and Children & Families—have aired in recent weeks. The one that a Democratic senator sued over came from the transportation department, which asserted that “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana, putting everyone at risk.” That was dismissed by a state circuit court, however.
Most recently, the health department and surgeon general have been promoting new warnings about the potential impact of cannabis on youth.
A political committee opposing the legalization measure has received a half-million-dollar contribution from an organization that Elon Musk reportedly used to quietly support DeSantis’s before he dropped out of the 2024 presidential race. At the same time, the pro-legalization campaign has officially exceeded $100 million in total contributions.
The main corporate backer of the legalization initiative, the multi-state cannabis operator Trulieve, has separately filed a defamation suit against the state’s Republican Party, alleging it’s knowingly deceived voters about the proposed constitutional change known as Amendment 3.
Outside the presidential race, there’s been a mix of support and opposition for the Florida legalization amendment on both sides of the partisan spectrum.
For example, the former head of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under then-President Bill Clinton recently urged Florida voters to reject the marijuana legalization initiative, arguing that it would create a “new addiction-for-profit industry” in the state.
Nikki Fried, the chair of the Florida Democratic Party and a former state agriculture commissioner, recently endorsed Amendment 3. And the chair also laid out a framework for regulating cannabis that she thinks the legislature should enact if voters do approve the reform. That involves automatic expungements for prior marijuana convictions, taking steps to mitigate the risk of monopolization in the industry and directing tax revenue to Black communities and education.
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), for his part, has said he intends to vote against it, strictly because he feels the reform should be enacted statutorily, rather than as a constitutional amendment that would prove more challenging to amend.
On the other hand, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure will pass.
While polling has also consistently demonstrated that the ballot measure enjoys majority support from Democrats and Republicans alike—and despite the fact that Trump has endorsed it as well—Florida’s governor has not relented in his crusade to defeat it.
Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers and Gruters, the GOP state senator, also met with Trump ahead of his endorsement of Amendment 3, as well as federal rescheduling and industry banking access.
Meanwhile, another recent survey from the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which is against the cannabis initiative, found that 59 percent of likely voters in the state back Amendment 3.
A separate poll from the James Madison Institute (JMI) showed 64 percent of likely voters in Florida are in favor of the legalization proposal.
Smart & Safe Florida also rolled out another series of new ads last month—including one calling out the hypocrisy of criminalizing cannabis while alcohol is legally available and another featuring a county sheriff making the case for ending marijuana prohibition.
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.