DeSantis Doubles Down With New Taxpayer-Funded Anti-Marijuana Ads, One Links Cannabis To Domestic Violence

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is apparently using yet another state agency in his ongoing crusade to defeat two constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election.

This time it's the Florida Department of Education, which is helping pay for a new television ad warning of the "risks to marijuana" with less than three weeks until voters will decide on the cannabis legalization initiative, Amendment 3, which enjoys broad popular support.

A co-sponsored ad from the Departments of Health, Education and Children & Families, reported Jason Garcia on Seeking Rents targets parents, warning them of the dangers of cannabis, saying it "can do real damage to the still-developing brains of young people."

"Protect your teen's future and mental health: Make sure they know the risks to marijuana," the Education Department ad warns.

Read Also: Florida’s Cannabis Amendment: Record Spending, Unlikely Alliances, And Criticism From The Catholic Church

Transportation Dept. Goes Low

The Department of Transportation (DOT), which ran a tax-payer-funded ad in September that sparked outrage as it equated cannabis with DUI crashes, said that legalized marijuana is "putting everyone at risk.”

Now the DOT is out with another ad in which three sheriffs make various claims about the harms of cannabis, including one who suggests that marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of domestic violence.

"When we make home visits for domestic violence calls, they're often associated with marijuana use," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, a claim that runs contrary to research on the topic.

Duval County Sheriff T.K. Waters says there are "too many kids going to the ER because of weed gummies and joints laced with fentanyl."

Florida Sheriffs Alert: Impaired driving affects more than just you. Marijuana is sending more kids to the E.R., is often tied to domestic abuse, and is causing increased car collisions, fatalities, and insurance rates. Educate your families—protect your kids! pic.twitter.com/xoJav4DyGn

— FLORIDA DOT (@MyFDOT) October 17, 2024

Scary Anti-Abortion Ads

The well-funded Amendment 4 seeks to overturn the near total abortion ban signed by DeSantis that went into effect in May 2024, and bans abortion after six weeks.

The ad, which features a DeSantis appointed anti-abortion radiologist, is apparently designed to counter pro-Amendment 4 videos that include women and doctors telling horrific personal stories about the consequences of Florida's statewide abortion ban, one of the strictest in the nation.

Now Read:

• Ron DeSantis, Pregnant Pigs And Florida’s Cannabis Legalization: Battle Over Constitutional Amendment Rages