WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — There is a lot of buzz surrounding whether Florida will be the next state to legalize recreational marijuana.
Governor Ron DeSantis isn’t holding back how he feels about the initiative on this year’s ballot. While at an April news conference in Miami, he pointed out a list of uncertainties surrounding the legalization of adult-use recreational marijuana.
“This state will start to smell like marijuana in our cities and towns. It will reduce the quality of life,” Governor DeSantis said at the news conference. “Look at the weed one for example. The weed one is not just to decriminalize, it’s basically a license to have it anywhere you want. So no time, place and manner restrictions.”
Experts are now weighing in on what things look and smell like in the other 24 states where it’s already legal.
Many are wondering if recreational weed becomes legal in the state, does that mean people will be walking up and down the streets smoking pot? As it is right now, there are times people say they can smell it in certain areas of downtown West Palm Beach and surrounding areas. But will this make it worse? Those are the questions we are asking experts to answer.
Paula Savchenko, attorney and founding partner of Cannacore Group, works primarily in the cannabis industry helping clients expand into other states. She said even if the initiative passes, public consumption remains off-limits.
“You’re still not going to be seeing people smoking on corners, and we don’t have any regulations for cannabis lounges currently so that really shouldn’t be a concern,” Savchenko said.
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Florida is already a major player in medical marijuana, with over 800,000 registered patients. DeSantis said he doesn’t believe further expansion is necessary.
“Every part of Florida, not just South Florida, I see marijuana stores. We have medical marijuana in the state that has been approved and I implemented it. They hadn’t implemented it before I became governor. I implemented it and satisfied that the intent, but do we really need to do more,” DeSantis said.
If 60% of voters give the green light to recreational use in November, the Sunshine State could become one of the most lucrative cannabis markets in the country, potentially seeing sales of 5 to 6 billion dollars in the first year, according to cannabis-driven data company Headset.
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Savchenko said if this is implemented, it won’t be overnight.
“It’s not just going to be on day one once this amendment passes, we have you know, a free for all. We’re going to have regulations in place,” Savchenko said.
Agencies and the legislature will have six months to prepare for implementation and decide how it will be regulated.
If enough voters head to the polls in support of the change, it’ll go into effect in May of 2025.
