Amendment 3 is about much more than pot | Opinion

In our polarized climate, it’s hard to identify any issue on which Americans agree. Yet, there’s one notable exception: corporate monopolies.

A recent poll of 1,700 Americans found that 81 percent of likely voters and majorities of both parties agree with the statement, “I am concerned that big corporations and businesses are becoming too powerful.”

This November, Florida will vote on the legalization of marijuana and THC drugs. The initiative is a choice between allowing a corporate monopoly to make billions marketing drugs to kids or protecting public health and safety. Floridians must stand against more drugs in their communities and oppose Amendment 3.

Trulieve, the biggest marijuana corporation in the United States, is desperate for legalization in its home state of Florida.

In fact, Trulieve has spent more than $75 million to support its pro-drug campaign, 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.

To start, the ballot measure gives Trulieve the first opportunity to sell even more marijuana and THC drugs.

Second, Amendment 3 states that businesses selling recreational marijuana “shall not be subject to criminal or civil liability or sanctions under Florida law.” This unprecedented legal protection would allow Trulieve to operate with total impunity, even potentially marketing marijuana to kids.

This is concerning considering Trulieve’s numerous legal issues, including a recently settled wrongful death lawsuit , a class action lawsuit that claims predatory marketing practices, and a recent lawsuit against a smaller marijuana company in Ohio, which ultimately resulted in another Trulieve acquisition. Plus, Trulieve’s numerous employee whistleblower allegations which have ranged from unethical business practices to the overlooking sexual misconduct and racial discrimination .

Next, Amendment 3 punts regulatory details to the state legislature. If the initiative is approved, lawmakers in Tallahassee will need to pass legislation governing taxation, labeling, marketing, and more. One can only imagine how much more Trulieve would spend on lobbying lawmakers for lax regulations.

Like Big Tobacco and Big Pharma, enriching Big Marijuana will harm public health. Trulieve would have you believe the opposite: the front page of Trulieve’s website advertises using marijuana as a “journey” to “redefining your path to wellness.” Their framing couldn’t be more wrong.

The addiction industry has a history of obfuscating the truth about the drugs they peddle. Still, today’s marijuana companies like Trulieve don’t want you to know marijuana is highly addictive , harmful to mental health, and damaging to the brain and body.

If Amendment 3 passes drug dispensaries will be aggressively marketing kid-friendly marijuana gummies with THC potency of up to 99 percent.

Contrary to popular belief, the jury is not out on the impacts that high-potency marijuana has on users. Research demonstrates that today’s marijuana is linked to psychosis , schizophrenia , anxiety , depression , suicidality , worsened PTSD , certain cancers , heart attack , stroke , and up to eight points in IQ loss .

Not only have countless peer-reviewed studies spelled out the dangers associated with today’s marijuana, but the nation’s top doctors have, too. In a 2019 advisory applauded by the American Medical Association, former President Trump’s Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned the public, stating, “Not enough people know that today’s marijuana is far more potent than in days’ past... We’ve seen an increase in emergency department visits for psychosis, overdose and accidental ingestions.”

In a 2022 Senate hearing, President Biden’s Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned , “When it comes to youth, I worry that there is a perception that marijuana is completely harmless in children. Our data tells us otherwise.”

Floridians will soon decide if they want to allow a corporate marijuana monopoly that will harm public health to flood the Sunshine State with more drugs.

I urge voters to say “no” and send the message that the well-being of the next generation will not be sacrificed for corporate profits.

Kevin Sabet is the president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) and a former Obama White House drug policy advisor.