Statewide sheriffs and police chiefs organizations oppose Florida's cannabis initiative

Marijuana. By Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, May 2011.

Pointing to issues such as traffic safety, the Florida Sheriffs Association and the Florida Police Chiefs Association on Tuesday announced opposition to a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the use of recreational marijuana.

The sheriffs association said its members approved a resolution opposing the initiative during a meeting last week.

“The well-being and health of the citizens of Florida are threatened through the legalization and normalization of recreational marijuana,” sheriffs association President Bill Prummell, the Charlotte County sheriff, said in a prepared statement. “Our priority is the safety and security of our communities, and the data clearly shows that legalization leads to increased public health issues, road safety concerns, and a rise in youth marijuana use. We must take a stand to protect our citizens, especially our youth, from the negative impacts of marijuana.”

Similarly, Florida Police Chiefs Association President Charles Vazquez, chief of the Tampa International Airport Police Department, issued a statement that said based on “the experience of other states, we know that law enforcement resources, as well as public health and other governmental services, will be taxed with new call volume due to the nature of marijuana impairment and its relationship to criminality, including victimization, and mental health.”

But Smart & Safe Florida, a political committee leading efforts to pass the proposed constitutional amendment, disputes arguments that allowing recreational use of marijuana would lead to increased crime and issues such as traffic safety problems.

“While marijuana can impair driving abilities, the claim that legalization leads to significantly more impaired driving fatalities is not supported by evidence,” information on the Smart & Safe Florida committee website says. “Proper education, enforcement of impaired driving laws, and investment in public safety measures can mitigate any potential increase in marijuana-related traffic accidents.”

The initiative, which will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3, says, in part, that it would allow “adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.”

Voters in 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that allowed medical marijuana.