It’s Time To Legalize the Adult Use of Marijuana in Florida

I’m a travel writer. And as a matter of principle, if my government says I can’t go somewhere, it better have a darn good reason. 

For me, “high” is a place… and sometimes I want to go there. And when it comes to my civil liberty to enjoy marijuana as a responsible adult, there’s no good reason for our government to stop me.

That’s not to say that marijuana isn’t a drug or that it can’t be abused. It is, and it can — and that’s why I believe it needs to be regulated. Like America’s failed experiment with alcohol prohibition, criminalizing marijuana and prosecuting those who use it actually causes more harm to our society than the soft drug the law’s designed to protect us from. Americans learned this lesson long ago with alcohol, and today, one state at a time, our country is reaching the same conclusion about marijuana. 

A majority of Americans agree that marijuana is less harmful than tobacco or alcohol and that the responsible adult use of marijuana should be legal. As a society, we are deciding that we should stop locking up pot smokers. In fact, 24 states have legalized the adult use of marijuana — and I’m betting that Florida will be the next state to do so this November. 

Sure, privileged white guys like me can enjoy marijuana with little risk. But over 200,000 Americans are still being arrested each year for marijuana possession (including Floridians) — and most of them are poor, young people of color whose lives are unfairly derailed after simply being caught with a small amount of marijuana. America’s failed drug policies have been dubbed “the new Jim Crow” for good reason. Our country’s war on marijuana is flat-out racist.

Many politicians, such as Gov. Ron DeSantis, would like to wish marijuana away, but its use — legal or not — is well-established and here to stay. How we deal with it is a serious, expensive, and persistent challenge in our society. And it’s time for a new approach. That’s why I am asking you to support Amendment 3 to legalize, tax, and regulate the possession and sale of marijuana for adults in Florida. 

Amendment 3 is a commonsense law that will allow existing medical cannabis facilities to also sell marijuana to adults for recreational use. It allows people aged 21 and older to legally possess up to three ounces of cannabis, preventing thousands of unnecessary and expensive arrests for minor marijuana offenses. 

My support for Amendment 3 is not “pro-pot” — it’s simply common sense. Whether you’re concerned about treating minority communities fairly, the safety and well-being of children, alleviating mass incarceration, reallocating police resources to serious crimes, or advancing civil liberties, it’s clearly time for a change.

I helped legalize marijuana in my state, Washington, back in 2012. And now, more than a decade later, we’re glad we did. The results are in: Teen use has not gone up, there’s been no impact on road safety, we’re no longer arresting thousands of people a year, and our civil liberties are respected. A once thriving illicit market that enriched and empowered gangs and organized crime has been replaced by a highly regulated and taxed legal market that employs a lot of good people. And my state is enjoying about $500 million of tax revenue every year. My governor, who didn’t initially support our initiative, now sees the wisdom of taking crime out of the marijuana equation, and he’s thankful that we’ve thoughtfully legalized marijuana. 

Today, a majority of Americans reside in states that have legalized, taxed, and regulated the responsible and recreational use of marijuana for adults. And like my governor, they’re glad they did. With each election cycle, the laws are smarter, and the wisdom of legalizing is clearer. And now it’s your state’s turn. Be sure you’re properly registered and understand your voting options. And vote “yes” to bring this tragic, costly and counterproductive prohibition to an end in Florida this election. 

Rick Steves is a best-selling guidebook author, host of public television’s Rick Steves’ Europe, and a board member of NORML.

This commentary originally appeared in The Miami Herald.