“Whether you like it or not, it will happen”
Trump signals support for the legalization of marijuana in Florida – but at the same time will combat public consumption.
Another move in the election campaign: polls are calling for the decriminalization of marijuana among younger voters – a group of voters that has recently moved more towards Kamala Harris.
Photo: AFP
Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump has signalled his support for the legalisation of marijuana for recreational use in the US state of Florida in a referendum. “Whether people like it or not, it's going to happen,” the former US president said on Saturday in his online service Truth Social. In Florida, where Trump lives, a corresponding initiative will also be voted on in the presidential election on November 5.
No one should be a criminal in Florida “when it's legal in so many states,” Trump continued. “We don't need to ruin lives and waste taxpayer money by arresting adults” who are carrying amounts intended only for their own personal use.
Marijuana is already legal at the state level in large parts of the USA. Three quarters of US citizens live in states where it is legal either only for medical use or for both medical and recreational use. According to surveys, it is primarily younger voters who support the decriminalization of marijuana – a group of voters who have recently moved more towards Trump's Democratic rival, US Vice President Kamala Harris.
Trump is tolerant on the subject
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is against the initiative to legalize marijuana. “The proposed change would make Florida like San Francisco or Chicago,” DeSantis said, pointing out that his state allows marijuana for medical purposes. “We have to keep our streets clean.”
Trump signaled his support on Saturday, but at the same time he urged the adoption of laws against cannabis consumption in public, “so that we don't smell marijuana everywhere, as is the case in many cities run by Democrats,” the Republican explained.
During his victorious 2016 campaign, Trump took a tolerant stance on the issue, repeatedly saying he would leave the matter in the hands of local authorities. Once in the White House, Trump said little about it, but supported some of the hard-line positions of his first Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.
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