Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor publicly endorsed Amendment 3, the ballot initiative seeking to legalize recreational marijuana. His endorsement was released in a statement from Smart and Safe Florida, the group behind the ballot initiative.
Broward County State Attorney Harold Pryor publicly endorsed Amendment 3, the ballot initiative seeking to legalize recreational marijuana, in a statement Tuesday.
The endorsement, released the same day as the Florida primaries for state attorney positions, makes Pryor the first top prosecutor in the state to officially support the recreational marijuana amendment and places his views — at least for now — in conflict with the state law that still requires his office to prosecute minor marijuana offenses.
Spokespeople for the Pryor’s office referred to statements included in the Smart and Safe Florida news release in response to a request to interview him. In them, he said that, though he will continue to enforce the law, he has personally seen the ways the current laws disproportionately harm minorities and destroy lives.
“Florida’s Marijuana laws were well intentioned but have disproportionately affected our marginalized communities,” Pryor said. “While I have always and will always enforce the laws of the State of Florida, I have seen too many examples of low-level non-violent marijuana charges ruining people’s lives unnecessarily by throwing them into the criminal justice system, which is why I am supporting Amendment 3.”
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Morgan Hill, the spokesperson for Smart and Safe Florida, the group behind the ballot initiative, said in an email that Pryor “knows from his experience in the courtroom that these low-level marijuana possession charges are ruining lives, especially those in our Black and Brown communities. He also understands the burden these charges place on our criminal justice system. If police officers, public defenders, and public prosecutors no longer have to expend time and resources on simple marijuana offenses, they save taxpayer dollars and are better able to focus on serious crime.”
In 2021, Pryor announced a new policy directing his office to prosecute stand-alone marijuana possession cases in a “non-criminal manner” and recommending that law enforcement “use their discretion” instead of making an arrest and consider issuing civil citations or referring people to diversion programs instead.
“Prosecuting these cases has no public safety value and is a costly and counterproductive use of limited resources,” he wrote.
Some top law enforcement officials have also endorsed the amendment, such as Gadsden County Sheriff Morris Young, as well as Republican officials like State Sen. Joe Gruters. Other notable supporters include State Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan, and John Morgan, a top Democratic donor and cannabis advocate.
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In South Florida, other state attorneys have not given strong opinions on Amendment 3. The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The office stopped prosecuting minor cases in 2019, after hemp became legal. Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, who is not seeking reelection this year, said in April he was taking a “neutral stance” on the amendment, though he thinks it is likely to pass.
“I think there’s going to be a lot of confusion over the use of it, rather than just possession,” he told WPTV. “The Legislature is going to set up rules as to who’s allowed to sell this. And hopefully, they come up with a regulatory environment that strikes the right balance, because I do think this likely passes.”
Pryor’s statement came on Florida’s primary day. He is uncontested in the Broward race and will retain his position. In Palm Beach County, several Democrat and Republican candidates are vying for the office and have not yet publicly revealed their stance on the amendment.
Claire VanSusteren, the consultant for Alexcia Cox, who is widely endorsed by Democrats, said the candidate could not speak Tuesday about her stance, given the busy election day.
Asked whether Smart and Safe Florida is trying to get other state attorneys on board, Hill said, “we talking with voters and leaders from all over the state and across political parties about the importance of passing Amendment 3.”