GOP Senator Thom Tillis: Cannabis Should Mimic Tobacco Industry
The TDR Three Key Takeaways on GOP Senator Thom Tillis and Florida Law Enforcement Warning
- Police groups in Florida have taken a stance against cannabis: Both the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) and the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) are urging Floridians to vote against Amendment 3, which goes on the November ballot.
- FPCA Cites Colorado, Washington: The FPCA president Chief Charles Vazquez has stated that legal recreational cannabis will result in traffic fatalities, homelessness, and increased criminal activities.
- GOP Senator Wants Tobacco Framework for Marijuana: Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he supports creating a “comprehensive regulatory framework that treats marijuana just like tobacco,” arguing that “the federal government needs to figure out a safe way to allow this market to occur.”
TDR has been following the developments in Florida as November draws closer and so does the ballot which will allow voters to decide on Amendment 3, which, if passed, will legalize adult recreational use. On July 31, both the Florida Police Chiefs Association (FPCA) and the Florida Sheriffs Association (FSA) have joined Governor Ron DeSantis in telling Floridian residents to vote against Amendment 3.
The FPCA president, Chief Charles Vasquez of the Tampa International Airport Police Department, said, “As we represent the highest levels of law enforcement leadership in Florida, we believe that passage of Constitutional Amendment 3 “Adult Use of Marijuana” – otherwise known as recreational marijuana – will hurt public safety and ultimately cost Floridians tax dollars and lives. Among these impacts will be the growth of illegal markets and criminal cartels, impaired driving and traffic fatalities, homelessness, and hospitalization as a result of marijuana use.”
The statement issued by Chief Vasquez cites traffic fatality studies from Colorado and Washington state, both states which legalized marijuana recreationally in 2012.
Could political stances on cannabis be softening elsewhere? Despite the FPCA and FSA’s statements, Republican senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina shared his own perspective on developing federal cannabis policies on Tuesday. When asked about supporting the rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III in the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), the GOP senator said he backs “a comprehensive regulatory framework that treats marijuana just like tobacco.”
Host Shadd Dales and Anthony Varrell discuss these stories in this episode of Trade To Black.
