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Tallahassee, Fla. – State Senator Joe Gruters, a supporter of Amendment 3, yesterday proposed new legislation that would ban smoking in public on Florida’s beaches, streets, sidewalks, highways, parks, schools, hospitals, and public areas of retail and apartment buildings. Gruters’ proposal is a stunning admission that Amendment 3, as currently written, would allow for unlimited smoking in these locations and that the flaws in the amendment need to be addressed by the legislature.
Gruters said yesterday: “As we anticipate the passage of Amendment 3, it’s crucial to establish the necessary safeguards that protect everything we cherish about Florida.” He also noted: “I’m not a big fan of smoking of any kind anywhere. I think it infringes on my enjoyment when I’m out in public. We don’t want to see what’s happened in (Las) Vegas and New York with smoking on the streets…”
Those comments – which come from an Amendment 3 supporter – make clear that the amendment is flawed as currently written and would do exactly what the Vote No on 3 campaign has been warning about for weeks – it will turn Florida into a failed liberal state like New York or California.
The Vote No on 3 campaign Director of Advocacy Dr. Jessica Spencer said in response: “Joe Gruters’ legislative proposal is a stunning admission that Amendment 3 is filled with flaws that will turn Florida into New York and destroy our tourism industry by allowing unlimited marijuana consumption in public places. It’s ironic that the same people who support legalizing recreational marijuana through constitutional amendment instead of trusting the legislature to do so, are now changing their tune and claiming they trust the legislature to fix the problem that their amendment creates. What’s worse, Gruters’ proposal doesn’t even fix the fact that Amendment 3 would still allow neighbors to smoke in their own apartments and condos and smell up the whole building. Amendment 3 and the failed plan that Gruters is proposing to bail it out must be rejected.”
Other states that have legalized recreational marijuana have tried to implement similar legislation with limited success. In New York, a U.S. Open tennis player in 2022 complained about the smell of marijuana disrupting the tournament despite New York having a ban on public smoking in place.
What is all the more comical about Gruters’ proposal is that it is being used to bolster a new webpage for the “Yes on 3” effort that also includes a testimonial from Sheriff Morris Young of Gadsden County claiming that the passage of Amendment 3 would mean he will spend less time prosecuting people for marijuana consumption. But Gruters’ legislative proposal suggests that such prosecution would be necessary under Amendment 3 to deter people from smoking in public. So, the question that should be asked to the “Yes on 3” campaign is – which is it?
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The Vote No on 3 Campaign is running a vigorous and full-throated campaign to warn Floridians about this deceptive amendment seeking to make Florida the California of the east – a notion anathema to most Floridians. The campaign will highlight how Amendment 3 will cause the black market to explode; make pot more prevalent and more readily accessible for our children; has no time, place, or manner restrictions; and does not provide a plan for how the money generated from marijuana sales will be allocated. To learn more, visit no-on3.com and follow VoteNoOn3FL on Facebook, @VoteNo_On3 on X and @voteno_on3 on Instagram.