(WASHINGTON, DC) – The nation’s largest nonprofit dedicated to health-focused public policy and advocacy against the commercialization of marijuana, Smart Approaches to Marijuana Action (SAM Action), has launched a digital ad campaign in the closing weeks of the 2024 election cycle as it urges Floridians to vote NO on Amendment 3.
With the measure being bankrolled by the state’s largest marijuana corporation, Trulieve, which has spent in excess of $75 million to support its pro-drug campaign, Floridians have faced an onslaught of pro-drug propaganda that implies marijuana and THC drugs are safe and even ‘recreation.’ SAM Action’s campaign presents clear, bipartisan opposition against allowing a multi-billion-dollar corporate monopoly from marketing drugs to young people, communities of color and those suffering from addiction who will be overwhelmingly victimized if Amendment 3 passes.
“Proponents of legalization want you to think there’s widespread support for injecting more drugs into communities, but that simply isn’t true. Democrats and Republican leaders at every level oppose mass commercialization of marijuana because of the industry’s predatory practices and their efforts to hook a new generation of users on dangerous, psychoactive drugs. Trulieve has written a blank check to support its pro-drug message, making the measure the most expensive in American history. That’s because Amendment 3 is written as if it were solely for Trulieve’s benefit,” said SAM Action President Kevin A. Sabet, PhD., a former three-time White House drug policy advisor.
The new ad released by SAM Action can be viewed HERE. A second ad, available HERE, features former Congressman and SAM co-founder Patrick Kennedy one of the world’s leading voices on mental health and addiction. The ads are part of a series of videos SAM Action will be running in the state.
“Former President Obama, Governor Ron DeSantis, former HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and more leaders on a bi-partisan basis have all voiced opposition to the mass commercialization of marijuana because the data shows it’s bad for our communities. Today’s high-potency marijuana and THC drug products–including edibles, waxes, vape oils and drinks–are associated with depression, suicidality, IQ loss, psychosis and schizophrenia, especially for young people. Those are facts that won’t change by putting Trulieve and the addiction-for-profit industry on steroids, which is what would happen if Amendment 3 was adopted. Legalization is also proving to make our roads more dangerous with more drivers under the influence of marijuana – a problem law enforcement is not prepared to address,” Sabet continued.
“If Amendment 3 passes drug dispensaries will be aggressively marketing kid-friendly marijuana gummies with THC potency of up to 99 percent. There’s no reason to think the industry will be any less predatory here than it has been in any other state,” Sabet stated. “We urge Floridians to say no and send the message that the wellbeing of the next generation will not be sacrificed for corporate profits.”