Republican U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has long been an advocate for expanding legal marijuana access, was the driving force behind a bill legalizing low-THC medical marijuana a decade ago. In 2023, Gaetz proposed to stop testing members of the U.S. military for cannabis use. 

Gaetz says he will be voting against Amendment 3, Florida’s ballot proposal that would legalize recreational marijuana. His opposition to the amendment came to light following a re-election campaign rally in Pensacola, reported Florida Politics on Monday.

Gaetz Flips In One Direction, Trump In The Other

When asked about his stance on the marijuana initiative, as well as another amendment concerning abortion rights, Gaetz said that such issues should not be decided through state constitutional amendments. "Regardless of how someone feels about abortion or marijuana, I don't believe that those issues should be resolved in the state constitution," he told reporters.

Gaetz's remarks come just days after Donald Trump declined to say if he would vote for or against the two Florida initiatives to be decided upon in the November 2024 election. Instead, Trump suggested he would hold a press conference "in the near future" to announce his position.

Read Also: Trump’s Flip On Marijuana Legalization Conflicts With Running Mate JD Vance Who Does Not Share The Sentiment

When questioned about Florida’s legalization effort, Trump said, "Florida has something coming up. I’ll be making a statement about that fairly soon." Though in the same breath, he said "As we legalize it throughout the country … it's awfully hard to have people all over the jails that are in jail right now for something that's legal."

GOP Is All Over The Place On Amendments

Meanwhile, the fate of Amendment 3, which needs 60% voter approval to pass, remains uncertain, with opposition from key Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Rick Scott  and Gov. Ron DeSantis, who vehemently opposes cannabis legalization and by extension so does the Republican Party of Florida.

But, there's state Sen. Joe Gruters, former Republican Party of Florida chair and Trump ally who came out recently in support of the legalization measure, flying in the face of DeSantis. However, the governor had to be pleased last week with the cool $12 million donation to the anti-cannabis cause from hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin.

So, it might be safe to say that while 69% of Floridians support abortion access and 66% favor legalizing adult-use cannabis, there is clearly a mixed bag of support, changing of minds and switching of long-held attitudes among the Sunshine State's Republicans.

Oh well, it'll all come out in the wash…in November, that is.

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Photo of Matt Gaetz via Shutterstock