DeSantis launches anti-Marijuana crusade
The pot prohibitionists may be losing the wider war, but they haven’t given up launching quixotic battles.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), an ultra-conservative culture warrior and 2024 Republican presidential candidate, recently made moves that stunned marijuana advocates and health professionals. The industry leaders I’ve spoken with about the governor’s actions are shaking their heads. Some are vowing lawsuits.
Gov. DeSantis signed a bill on June 27 that prohibits sober living facilities from allowing residents to possess or use medical marijuana, even if the patient is duly certified by a physician to legally use cannabis therapeutically in accordance with state law. All other doctor-prescribed pharmaceutical medications may be permitted.
Cannabis in Florida is illegal for recreational use. However, medical use was legalized in 2016 through a constitutional amendment. Appearing on the ballot as Amendment 2, the initiative to legalize medical marijuana in Florida was approved with an overwhelming 71% of the vote.
In signing the anti-cannabis measure last week, DeSantis cited the “putrid” scent of cannabis as a reason he remains opposed to fully legalizing its use in the state.
Under the newly enacted SB 210, applicants who want to obtain a license to operate recovery residences under the auspices of the state Department of Children and Families will need to prove that they don’t allow the use of cannabis, which “includes marijuana that has been certified by a qualified physician for medical use.”
However, residents are allowed to continue using other pharmaceutical drugs prescribed by doctors. In other words, the new law explicitly singles out medical marijuana, even though clinical research shows that marijuana can help patients overcome addictions to alcohol, nicotine, and opioids.
To receive state certification, a prospective recovery residence must provide documentation, including a policy manual. The new law amends that requirement to mandate that the manual include a specific prohibition on marijuana, regardless of a person’s status as a medical cannabis patient.
At the same time, DeSantis also took action against hemp. He signed SB 1676, a bill he championed that revises Florida’s hemp regulations and inserts new language that bars the sale of smokeless hemp products such as “snuff, chewing gum, and other smokeless products” to people under 21.
What’s more, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a DeSantis ally, recently asked the state Supreme Court to strike a 2024 ballot initiative on legalizing recreational pot in Florida. For her justification, Moody claimed that the wording of the initiative is “misleading,” but so far she hasn’t elaborated.
The governor is on a moral crusade against “wokeness,” a fungible term under which he places marijuana. However, when it comes to weed, he’s bucking the tide.
A recent poll shows that seven in 10 voters in Florida support marijuana legalization. The survey from the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab found that 70% of respondents in the state either somewhat or strongly back the idea of passing a constitutional amendment to enact legalization, whereas 29% strongly or somewhat oppose it.
Nationwide, more people in the U.S. are now smoking marijuana than tobacco cigarettes, according to a recent Gallup poll.
In a separate Gallup poll, 48% of Americans report having tried marijuana (see chart).
Research firm BDSA reported in June that annual global cannabis sales are on track to grow from $14.5 billion in 2019 to $45 billion in 2027. Total global legal cannabis sales are projected to reach $36.7 billion in 2023, with 80% of sales coming from the U.S., which remains the world’s biggest market.
Nixon redux?
Reform of the status quo usually doesn’t occur in a linear, uninterrupted fashion. The status quo rarely gives up without a fight, even if the resistance to change is ultimately proven futile. Accordingly, if you think the pot prohibitionists have simply thrown in the towel, you’re sorely mistaken. But they’re on the wrong side of history.
The latest political moves in Florida against marijuana and hemp evoke the ghost of Richard Nixon. It was Nixon who launched the War on Drugs in 1971, as a way to persecute groups (e.g., anti-war and civil rights activists) that he perceived as enemies. Back in 1969, when Nixon occupied the White House, only 4% of Americans told Gallup that they had tried marijuana.
DeSantis’ rear guard action notwithstanding, an increasing number of states are legalizing pot. Marijuana is legal for adults in 22 states and Washington, DC. Medical marijuana is legal in 38 states and DC. And it’s my contention that federal prohibition is doomed.
The inevitable demise of marijuana prohibition is reminiscent of the repeal of alcohol prohibition in 1933. Whether you think marijuana legalization is beneficial or immoral is beside the point. The legalization train has left the station and no politician can stop it. Don’t let anti-pot politicians give you cold feet as an investor. The time to invest in marijuana is now.
As cannabis enters the mainstream, some pot stocks are superb investments. But many others are not. You need to conduct due diligence.
