Coral Springs Vice Mayor: Florida will benefit of legalizing recreational marijuana

If Florida legalize recreational marijuana for adults consumption, it will reap the financial and social benefit. We should legalize recreational marijuana to help mitigate the financial devastation caused by the Covd-19 pandemic.

Studies have shown that states that have legalized recreational marijuana have produced hundreds of new jobs and made millions in sales each month. If Florida taxes and allows municipalities to tax sales of legal marijuana, the impact would benefit multiple sectors of our economy as well as other societal benefits such as education.

We also need to release the men and women who have been arrested for nonviolent offenses related to marijuana possession. We have evolved as a society to now understand the benefits of marijuana, but to also understand that it is nowhere near as harmful as other federal Schedule 1 drugs like LSD, ecstasy, and heroin.

Even here in Coral Springs, our police department opts to give civil citations for a small amount of possessed marijuana.

In a time when hyper-partisanship has deadlocked our governmental efficiency, legalization of recreational marijuana has often found bipartisan support and I believe that is something we must explore.

There are a few state bills that have been proposed to legalize recreational marijuana use.

Since this issue is dealt with at the state level, all we can do locally is urge.

Citizens can make phone calls to their state representatives and senators and ask them to pursue this course.

We have to think outside the box and come up with solutions that will help our cities and states bounce back from Covid-19.

The Sunshine State can stand to make millions in revenue, create new jobs, and build an entire industry if we legalize recreational marijuana.