Legalization is still on the tables in Florida, however, it now seems as if law enforcement officials are in favor of the idea. A small group met to discuss the benefits of both medical and recreational marijuana at the Collier County Library located off Airport Road. Both Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) and the ACLU announced that 40% of drug arrests are because of marijuana. They both agreed that law enforcements should spend their time on more serious crimes and would be able to do so if marijuana was legalized.
The groups also noted that in states like Colorado, where marijuana has been legalized, there have been decreased crime rates. In addition, if it was legalized in Florida, they said, marijuana would create jobs, lower tax burdens, and give patients more health care choices.
A former federal investigator, Ray Strack, stated that Colorado has had 10,000 more jobs because of the legalization of marijuana and says that it could reach up to 30,000 in Florida if it were legalized. Also, marijuana has generated over $700 million in revenue for Colorado, LEAP states.
Recreational use is not probable for Florida, but the group is calling a medical marijuana amendment to be put on the ballot in 2016. Almost 850,000 people have signed the petition, however, the group states that it only has a month left to get 200,000 more signatures to be considered for the ballot.
In 2014, medical marijuana was on the Florida ballot but did not pass because 42% of Floridians voted against it. If the amendment shows up on the ballot once more in 2016, 60% of Floridians will need to be for it for it to pass.
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