Despite three bills currently sitting in the Florida Legislature to legalize recreational marijuana for adults and polls expressing a majority of Floridians would support the legalization of recreational marijuana, legal weed still faces serious opposition with the Florida government. Currently, Senate Bill 710 proposed by Senator Jeff Brandes (Rep.), Senate Bill 1930 proposed by Senator Bobby Powell (Dem.) and House Bill 291 proposed by Representative Yvonne Hinson (Dem.) would legalize marijuana, and are likely to advance beyond their respective chambers.
“None of these bills right now are really moving in the Senate,” Sen. Powell said during a town hall surrounding mMarijuna in Florida held over Facebook Live on April 5. Also in attendance at this town hall was Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried (Dem.), Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith (Dem.) and Senator Brandes.
Governor Ron DeSantis (Rep.) has frequently announced his opposition to recreational marijuana legalization.
“Not while I’m Governor,” DeSantis told WJHG News in June 2019 in response to a question about recreational legalization. “I mean, look, when that is introduced with teenagers and young people, I think it has a really detrimental effect on their well-being and their maturity.”