Colorado Governor Explains Benefits Of Marijuana Legalization To Florida Voters Ahead Of Ballot Vote

Speaking this week to a local NBC affiliate in Florida, where voters are set to decide Tuesday on a constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana for adults, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) said that legalization in his state—one of the first two in the U.S. to adopt the reform—as been an overwhelming success.

Polis told WTVJ in Miami that since legalization, Colorado has seen lower youth use of marijuana, a smaller illegal market as well as revenue for businesses and state services.

“It’s been good, because it’s gotten the criminal element out of the marijuana business,” the Colorado governor said. “So it’s made it harder, for instance, for underage kids to access marijuana.”

“There’s been over billions of dollars of tax revenues that’s gone to youth centers,” he added. “It’s gone to scholarships for kids, and, of course, it’s really eliminated the underground economy in that sector.”

Polis’s comments come as voters in Florida weigh in on Amendment 3, an adult-use legalization measure backed largely by the multi-state marijuana operator Trulieve.

In states that have legalized adult-use recreational marijuana, the elimination of underground markets has driven a reduction in underage use while generating billions in tax revenue to reinvest in youth programs and scholarships.

🇺🇸Tomorrow, Floridians, VOTE YES on Amendment 3… pic.twitter.com/PENjJx8omt

— Smart & Safe Florida (@SmartandSafeFl) November 4, 2024

The pro-Amendment 3 Smart & Safe Florida campaign drew attention to the comments on social media Monday, saying that in states where marijuana is legal, “the elimination of the underground markets has driven a reduction in underage use while generating billions in tax revenue to reinvest in youth programs and scholarships.”

While most surveys have shown majority—and often bipartisan—support for the reform, it remains unclear whether the measure can reach a steep 60 percent vote threshold to pass a constitutional amendment under state law.

If approved, Florida would become the third largest state by population in the country to end prohibition.

The initiative has benefitted from major endorsements, including that of former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee and a Florida resident who’s said he will be supporting it. At the same time, it’s faced a concerted opposition campaign from top officials such as Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the state Republican Party. Among other arguments against the amendment, opponents say it would put Florida’s children at risk.

Polis, in the new interview, said of youth use in Colorado that “it’s a fact that it’s down.” However, he explained that he could only hypothesize as to why that trend has been observed.

“There’s less corner drug dealers selling marijuana, just like it’s harder to get alcohol,” he suggested, adding that in states where cannabis remains illegal, “they say it’s usually harder to get alcohol than it is marijuana.”

A report published earlier this year found that past-30-day youth marijuana use in Colorado declined slightly in 2023—remaining significantly lower than before the state became one of the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for adults.

Polis has appeared on various platforms ahead of the election, often defending Colorado’s experience with cannabis legalization in the face of critics in other states, including Florida. He also recently spoke in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, during an online event hosted by musician and marijuana icon Willie Nelson.

At that event, he highlighted Harris’s backing for the policy change as a key difference between her and current President Joe Biden, whom he said has “done very little” on the issue during his term.

Polis has occasionally joked about about not wanting other states to enact legalization because Colorado’s market has benefitted from the additional out-of-state cannabis tourism.

“A lot of other states have” legalized marijuana since Colorado, he said in April. “So that means there’s less tourism, of course, and we’re a little bit less special—but we are going to continue to lead in this area and double down.”

In 2020, Polis joked in a Twitter post that if Texas legalized marijuana it would “reduce tourism to Colorado, so make sure to consider Colorado first in any Texas decisions.”

Meanwhile in Florida, the pro-legalization campaign Smart & Safe Florida has highlighted support from both Harris and Trump.

Here’s the full text of the ballot title and summary:

“Allows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise; allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Establishes possession limits for personal use. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.”

Polling on Amendment 3 has fluctuated over the course of the election cycle, though it’s fairly consistently found majority support for the proposal—even if it hasn’t always reached the 60 percent threshold.

An Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey that was released last month found that support for Amendment 3 is at 60 percent, while 34 percent are opposed and 6 percent remain undecided.

Meanwhile, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, which has publicly opposed the cannabis measure, also came out with its latest poll on the issue last month. It found support for the reform from likely voters at 57 percent—a majority but not quite enough to secure passage.

A previous survey from the chamber that was released in September found that 59 percent of likely voters in the state backed Amendment 3.

A poll from the James Madison Institute (JMI) from August showed 64 percent of likely voters in Florida were in favor of the legalization proposal.

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.

DeSantis has faced allegations of weaponizing state departments to push anti-legalization narratives through various PSAs in recent weeks—prompting one Democratic state senator to sue over what he claimed was an unconstitutional appropriation of tax dollars. A Florida judge has since dismissed that lawsuit due to what he claimed to be a lack of standing and claim of injury.

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.

Opponents of Amendment 3 hired a number of right-wing influencers—including former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, actor Kevin Sorbo and affiliates of the conservative nonprofit Turning Point USA—to post critically on social media about the policy proposal, claiming, for example, that it would hand control of the cannabis market to “greedy” corporate actors and that the smell of marijuana would be “EVERYWHERE.”

The Smart & Safe Florida campaign took in over $150 million—with funding coming primarily from large cannabis companies such as Trulieve, the multi-state operator that has contributed tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.

Trulieve 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.

Smart & Safe Florida rolled out a series of ads in September—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.

In October, advocates aired another pair of ads, including one that features clips of Trump endorsing the cannabis reform proposal—with a call for voters to “join” him in supporting the measure.

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