Trump says he supports effort to legalise marijuana in Florida

Endorsement puts former US president at odds with social conservatives but in line with majority of American public.

Former US President Donald Trump has said he will support a ballot measure in the southern state of Florida that would legalise marijuana for people over the age of 21.

In a social media post on Monday, the Republican presidential nominee said that as president he would support state-level efforts to decriminalise and regulate marijuana, as well as research into the drug’s potential medical applications.

“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,” Trump said. “We must also implement smart regulations, while providing access for adults, to safe, tested product. As a Floridian, I will be voting YES on Amendment 3 this November.”

Trump also said he would work with the US Congress to pass “common sense” laws around the issue, including safe banking for state-authorised marijuana vendors.

Efforts to ease restrictions on marijuana usage are widely popular in the United States. A 2024 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 57 percent of people in the US believe that the drug should be legal for medical and recreational purposes, with only 11 percent stating that it should not be legal at all.

The announcement comes as Trump is locked in a tight race for the US presidency with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris. The two candidates are set to hold their first debate on Tuesday.

But in Florida, a Republican-leaning state with a long history of strict policies on criminal justice, the legalisation bid – known as Amendment 3 – has divided conservative lawmakers.

The state’s right-wing Governor Ron DeSantis, who mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge against Trump for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, has expressed his opposition to the effort.

Trump’s social media post came several hours after DeSantis told a group of Florida churchgoers that Amendment 3 was an effort to create a “drug cartel” using the state’s constitution.

“Public use of this will be rampant,” DeSantis said. “You can’t point to a state that is better off for doing it.”

Polls show the effort on track to win a sizable victory in the state, with a recent Emerson poll showing 64 percent in favour and 27 percent opposed. Recreational marijuana usage is legal in about two dozen US states.

For decades, the US pursued a harsh approach to drug use that contributed to surging jail populations, disproportionately affecting people of colour and low-level drug offenders.

Democrats have taken a more lenient approach to marijuana in recent years. In April, President Joe Biden said “nobody should have to go to jail for smoking weed”, but his administration has stopped short of pushing to legalise the drug at the federal level.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies