'We cannot have every town smelling like marijuana': DeSantis says his new PAC will fight recreational pot amendment

Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated during a press conference Tuesday that one of the election targets for his recently launched political action committee, Florida Freedom Fund, will be the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults.

The governor has previously attacked Amendment 3 when talking about plans for the PAC launched on May 24, calling the initiative that will appear on the ballot in November “bogus.” Still, the Florida Freedom Fund would have to face off against Smart & Safe Florida, the recreational cannabis backers. That group has raised more than $66 million, according to campaign finance reports.

“We are working with a lot of stakeholders who are interested in making sure that we defeat Amendment 3, which would basically do marijuana, wherever you want, just smoke it, take it. And it would turn Florida into San Francisco, or Chicago, or some of these places,” DeSantis said during a Tuesday press conference in Lake County. “We already have medical marijuana, it’s out there. But we got to keep our streets clean, we cannot have every town smelling like marijuana.”
Although Politico has reported that the PAC would also target Amendment 4, the ballot initiative to protect abortion access, DeSantis hasn’t said much about the topic publicly. He also focused on the cannabis amendment and state attorney races when he signed the 2024-25 budget on June 12.

As of June 14, the first and only contribution the Florida Freedom Fund has reported came from Keith Rothfus. The former Pennsylvania congressman donated $10,000 to the PAC, which is almost as much as the $13,300 he donated to DeSantis’ presidential campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission individual donor database.

DeSantis held the press conference in Central Florida to award the local governments of Umatilla and Plant City $4.8 and $5.5 million, respectively, for infrastructure projects. He also gave the Florida Medal of Merit to Mel Jenner, a WWII veteran who fought during D-Day.

Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: [email protected]. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.

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