A constitutional referendum on this issue is scheduled to be held in Florida in November, simultaneously with the presidential election.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Saturday that he is in favor of adopting an amendment legalizing recreational use of cannabis for adults in his home state of Florida.
A constitutional referendum on this issue is scheduled to be held in Florida in November, simultaneously with the presidential election.
In the United States, it is common practice for voters to cast ballots simultaneously in national elections and on many local issues. The issue is especially sensitive for young voters, as a clear majority of people under 50 want to legalize recreational cannabis use.
“In Florida, like so many other states that have already approved it, a personal amount of marijuana for adults will be allowed,” Donald Trump wrote on his social network Truth.
“No one should be classified as a criminal in Florida for what is legal in so many other states. We do not need to waste lives and taxpayer dollars arresting adults for possession of personal amounts of marijuana,” he added.
However, he called for laws against public consumption of cannabis “so that we don’t smell cannabis everywhere, as in so many cities governed by Democrats.”
During his successful 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump had taken a tolerant stance on the issue, repeatedly saying he would let local authorities handle the matter.
But later, in the White House, he was more discreet on the issue and supported the hardline position of his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, on policing.
In 2018, Sessions repealed the lenient federal policy toward recreational cannabis legalization introduced by the Democratic administration of Barack Obama, giving prosecutors free rein to go after ordinary cannabis users as they saw fit. But most refrained from doing so.
Although three-quarters of Americans currently live in a state where cannabis is legal, legalization does not yet exist at the federal level in the United States. In May, the Department of Justice under outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden officially published its recommendation to reclassify cannabis as a less dangerous drug than it currently is.
Source: Observadora
