Former President Donald Trump said Saturday that he believes voters in his home state of Florida will approve a marijuana legalization initiative in the November election. He argued that "marijuana is legal in many other states, so someone shouldn't be a criminal in Florida." Trump added that the current policy has ruined lives, wasted taxpayer dollars and put people at risk of dying from marijuana laced with fentanyl.
In a post on his Social media site Truth Social, Trump said: "Florida, like many other states that have ratified it, will legalize the personal possession of marijuana for adults under the 3rd Amendment. Whether people like it or not, this will be done through voter approval, so it should be done correctly." "We need state legislatures to responsibly enact laws that ban marijuana in public places so that we don't smell it everywhere, as we do in many Democratic-run cities," he added. "At the same time, no one in Florida should be a criminal because marijuana use is legal in many other states." We don't need to destroy lives and waste taxpayer money arresting adults with amounts of marijuana on them for personal use, and we shouldn't have to grieve over the death of a loved one from fentanyl-laced marijuana."
Florida Sen. Joe Gruters, a former chairman of the state Republican Party, welcomed Trump's support for legalization. "I am very proud that President Trump has stood with us in our joint effort to end unnecessary arrests and incarceration of adults for mere possession of marijuana for personal use, and to allow Floridians the same personal freedom to choose safe, tested products that more than half of the nation's people already enjoy," he said. Grutters has promised to push for legislation to ban marijuana in public places if voters approve legalization, and Trump now supports it.
On the other hand, Florida Republican Rep. Brian Master, co-chair of the Congressional Marijuana Caucus, predicted earlier this year that the measure would eventually pass. In stark contrast to most states that have achieved sustained growth, Florida's marijuana sales in July have fallen to their lowest level since 2024, according to market data provided by the industry body. Reform is imperative in Florida.
