Florida Conservatives Attack Donald Trump Over Marijuana Comments

A number of Florida conservatives have spoken out against Donald Trump after the former president supported legalizing recreational marijuana in the state.

In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump suggested backs Florida, where he lives, approving a constitutional amendment in November which would legalize recreational marijuana for adults.

The Republican said that Florida should not "ruin lives & waste Taxpayer Dollars," arresting adults with personal amounts of the drug on them, and no one should "grieve a loved one because they died from fentanyl laced marijuana" in the state.

"Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly," Trump said. "We need the State Legislature to responsibly create laws that prohibit the use of it in public spaces, so we do not smell marijuana everywhere we go, like we do in many of the Democrat run Cities."

In response, Florida conservatives, including those who support Trump's former GOP primary rival, Governor Ron DeSantis, who is against Florida's Amendment 3, have hit out at the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nominee for voicing support for legalizing recreational marijuana.

Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign team also accused Trump of "just making stuff up" to appeal to voters in the election.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Gilchrist GOP chair David Biddle said: "Don't listen to Trump. Vote NO on Amendment 3.

"We don't need recreational marijuana in Florida. It's been a disaster everywhere they have it, it brings zero benefit to society, it increases crime, increases homelessness, and increases further drug use. It's bad for Florida."

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, who endorsed DeSantis in the 2024 race, suggested Trump is talking about the recreational marijuana amendment to distract people from saying he would not back Amendment 4, a ballot in Florida which would repeal the state's six-week abortion ban, soon after indicating he would vote for it.

"Trump is talking about Amendment 3 to make conservatives start talking about why we obviously oppose this stupidity and he hopes we just forget about the Amendment 4 problem," Ellis posted. "PR play."

Iraq War veteran Great Peter Henlein added: "Now we have Trump coming out for Amendment 3 in Florida, saying it will pass.

"We know MAGA influencers are being paid large sums to promote this as well. It's all just a big scam for money. And even though I am a big DeSantis supporter, if he can't stand up to Trump over issues in his own state....well that's pretty bad. Stop being afraid of Trump and MAGA."

Trump's office has been contacted for comment via email.

In a statement, Republican Florida state Senator Joe Gruters, who is endorsing Amendment 3, said: "I am incredibly proud to have President Trump stand alongside us in our effort to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for simple possession of marijuana and to give Floridians the same individual freedom to choose safe, tested products that more than half the country already enjoys.

"President Trump's call for smart implementation is exactly why I filed a bill to prevent smoking in public. Marijuana should be consumed at home, and I will work alongside my colleagues in the legislature to ensure Florida does this right."

Ian Sams, Harris for President senior spokesperson, added that Trump is "saying one thing after having done another" on issues such as marijuana legislation.

"As a candidate in 2024, he suggests he is for decriminalizing marijuana—but as president, his own Justice Department cracked down on marijuana offenses," Sams said.

"Trump's administration took marijuana reform backwards, withdrawing guidelines to limit prosecutions of marijuana offenses that were legal under state laws. Trump even proposed removing medical marijuana protections."