Why Florida could end up with the same issues as NY if it makes pot legal

When Floridians go to the polls this November, they’ll be deciding an important question: whether to let businesses sell marijuana, as they’re currently able to do in 24 other states, including New York.Florida’s Amendment 3 commands some powerful supporters, including a recent endorsement by former President Donald Trump.It’s a bellwether for marijuana legalization’s prospects nationwide.But while backers have talked up the alleged injustice of marijuana prohibition, they’ve avoided discussing the real effect of the law: making it legal to profit off pot.

Amendment 3 would permit medical dispensaries and other, future license recipients to sell weed to any adult.That’s reason enough for Floridians—and everyone else—to be skeptical of legalization.

A legal market would make big businesses happy, which is why they’ve spent so much pushing for one.But Floridians shouldn’t trust their communities, or their kids, in the hands of profit-hungry drug companies.To be sure, big business wants legal weed.Florida is the second largest state (behind Texas) without a legal market.

For marijuana businesses, which have seen market values collapse amid struggles in other states, that’s an exciting prospect.That’s why the Amendment’s main backer, the marijuana concern Trulieve, has poured $80 million into passing Amendment 3.That’s nearly six times what opponents of the law have spent.

But it’s a small fraction of what the billion-dollar business could make off of weed in Florida.But can Floridians trust Trulieve? This is the company that reached a six-figure settlement after one of its Massachusetts employees died from inhaling ground marijuana dust.The state’s cannabis commission found that Trulieve failed to comply with workplace safety requirements; it no longer operates in the state.This is the company that the CEO’s husband, J.T.

Burnette, claimed in a secretly recorded conversation, got special help in cornering the Florida medical mar...