By Vice President Harris’s campaign called a social media post from former President Trump about Florida’s marijuana legalization ballot measure “blatant pandering” Monday.
In a post on Truth Social late Sunday night, Trump said he will vote yes on Amendment 3, which would legalize marijuana in the Sunshine State.
“As I have previously stated, I believe it is time to end needless arrests and incarcerations of adults for small amounts of marijuana for personal use,” the former president wrote. “We must also implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product.”
Joseph Costello, a spokesperson for Harris’s campaign, said in a statement Monday that Trump’s position on the measure didn’t match up with his record.
“Despite his blatant pandering, Donald Trump cannot paper over his extensive record of dragging marijuana reform backward,” Costello said.
“As president, Trump cracked down on nonviolent marijuana offenses – undermining state legalization laws, opposed safe banking legislation, and even tried to remove protections for medical marijuana,” he added.
“Donald Trump does not actually believe in marijuana reform, but the American people are smart enough to see through his campaign lies.”
Trump in his Sunday post said he would continue working on marijuana reform if he returns to the White House.
“As President, we will continue to focus on research to unlock the medical uses of marijuana to a Schedule 3 drug, and work with Congress to pass common sense laws, including safe banking for state authorized companies, and supporting states rights to pass marijuana laws, like in Florida, that work so well for their citizens,” he wrote.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced it started on the formal rulemaking process to reschedule marijuana from a Schedule I designation to a Schedule III designation.
“This is monumental. Today my administration took a major step to reclassify marijuana from a schedule one drug to a schedule three drug. It’s an important move toward reversing long-standing inequities,” President Biden said in a statement on the social platform X at the time.
However, Biden has come up short of his 2020 campaign promise to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level.
Trump had previously indicated he might support the measure to legalize recreational marijuana.
“In Florida, like so many other States that have already given their approval, personal amounts of marijuana will be legalized for adults with Amendment 3,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social late last month. “Whether people like it or not, this will happen through the approval of the Voters, so it should be done correctly.”
The Hill has reached out to the Trump campaign.