A circuit court in May struck down a Gov. Rick Scott-approved law banning the smoking of cannabis or its purchase in its common bud form; Scott is now appealing that ruling. | Getty Images 'A mistake:' Florida GOP candidates take risk in backing Scott's medical marijuana smoking ban

The Republicans running to succeed Gov. Rick Scott, and those trying to hold onto Florida Cabinet seats, are all supporting his decision to fight medical marijuana patients in court — even though the politics of pot could work against the party this fall in Florida.

A circuit court in May struck down a Scott-approved law banning the smoking of cannabis or its purchase in its common bud form; Scott is now appealing that ruling. And in supporting Scott's fight to uphold the law, gubernatorial candidate former Rep. Ron DeSantis, attorney general candidate Ashley Moody and state agriculture commissioner candidate Matt Caldwell have all opened themselves up to criticism from their Democratic rivals, including Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum, who is running ahead of DeSantis by 3 percentage points and 4 percentage points, respectively, in two recent polls.


Some fellow Republicans say the GOP candidates are thwarting the clear will of the 71.3 percent of Florida voters who approved a state constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana in 2016.

“As a Republican I’m deeply concerned with their position. The support for medical marijuana, even among conservative voters, is overwhelming,” said Roger Stone, a Florida-based Republican operative and longtime on-again, off-again adviser to President Donald Trump.

“It’s a mistake and it’s a potentially problematic position if it gets widespread exposure because, in the meantime, while politicians fight in court about this, sick people go without medicine and needlessly suffer and perhaps in some cases may even die,” Stone said.

DeSantis, who has shied away from giving in-depth views about a host of Florida issues, said he wanted to wait on the courts and indicated he would say more if he were elected in November.

“I’ll look at the law when I get in. But I can tell you this: I’m committed to implementing the will of the voters. I think this has gone on a long time. I think voters spoke very clearly,” DeSantis said. “And so when I’m governor, we will implement the amendment and go forward. And I’m not going to dilly-dally around. So if they get a favorable or a negative ruling between now and then, I’ll obviously consider that. But my intent is to go forward.”

But since a judge already issued a negative ruling, DeSantis was asked at a press conference: Why not drop the challenge Scott is pushing?

“They’re appealing it, though. That’s what I’m saying. I want to see what happens with that,” DeSantis said. “Look, if the law is X, then I’ll implement X. But if it’s Y, I’m gonna implement Y. And so that’s just the way it’s gonna be.”

When asked for comment, Gillum’s campaign swiped at DeSantis for failing to “put patients first and give them access to the care they need.”

Gillum supports full legalization and taxation of marijuana; he argues that state Capitol Republicans have botched medical marijuana implementation and that too many people are incarcerated for possessing a drug that’s safer than alcohol.

Scott, who is leaving office as governor due to term limits and is now running against Sen. Bill Nelson, has refused to say why he’s appealing the case or why he signed a law that was clearly heading for defeat in court; the drafters of the amendment and the language of the amendment itself, after all, mentioned smoking and did not call for a ban on it.

“What’s important to me is people have access to the medicine they need, and people all across the state have access to this, but I’m also going to continue to follow the law,” Scott said.

Democrats who want to join Gillum on the Florida Cabinet — attorney general candidate Sean Shaw and Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried — made it clear they’re making medical marijuana a campaign issue.

In a written statement, Shaw accused Republicans of pushing a “political agenda. As Attorney General, I will not tolerate this inaction and political grandstanding. I'll hold the Tallahassee politicians accountable and ensure people who need marijuana for medical purposes can access it — Ashley Moody, my opponent, won't.”

In a written statement, Moody did not give her opinion about the law but noted that “after extensive hearings, the legislature, in balancing its responsibility to protect the welfare of Floridians with its mandate to allow for medicinal use of marijuana, enacted law that did not permit the smokable form of marijuana, but made the drug legal for specific purposes. When a defense of state law is justifiable, there exists a duty to defend that law in court and, thus, the litigation to clarify the amendment's scope is reasonable and not unexpected in light of the significant change to Florida's drug laws.”

Fried issued a written statement that echoed the criticisms of the Democrats and Stone.

“Floridians spoke loud and clear in 2016, and they have a constitutionally enshrined right to access smoke-able medical marijuana,” she said. “Does my opponent, Matt Caldwell, support this waste of taxpayer dollars, against the choice of Floridians? As your Commissioner of Agriculture, we will ensure that patients have complete access to medical marijuana, just as the people intended.”

Caldwell’s answer: yes, he supports the lawsuit and the legislation that he voted for as a state representative.

“The Florida Constitution clearly leaves the decision regarding medicinal cannabis to the Legislature. More importantly, smoking is not a medicinal delivery system; for example, doctors don’t prescribe smoking opium instead of prescribing codeine,” Caldwell said. "This lawsuit is just a fig leaf for full recreational use, which I believe should be left to the voters to decide.”

The man who drafted the amendment, Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, said Caldwell was wrong on both the language of the initiative and its intent.

Morgan, a Democrat who announced last year he would be an independent and not run for governor, said he has plans to contribute to Gillum’s campaign, classifying himself as a “top tier” donor.

Morgan contributed more than $6 million of his own cash toward a 2016 ballot initiative to expand the use of medical cannabis. The measure, known as Amendment 2, passed with a resounding 71.3 percent of the vote. In response, state lawmakers passed a law last year allowing a greater number of illnesses to be treated with cannabis, and providing rigid regulatory framework allowing the industry to grow.

The Legislature also included in the law a ban on smoking medical marijuana, which prompted Morgan to file a lawsuit in Leon County Circuit Court two weeks after the law took effect in June of last year.

Morgan filed the case on behalf of Manatee County resident Cathy Jordan, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Levy County resident Diana Dodson, who has AIDS. After a May 14 trial, Leon Circuit Judge Karen Gievers agreed the ban blocked patients from the seemingly unfettered access intended by Amendment 2, which was co-written by Morgan.

“If I were Scott, I would listen to what Cathy Jordan has to say,” Morgan said.

Stone said he believed DeSantis’ opposition to adhering to the will of the people is one of a few factors that gives his Democratic opponent, Gillum, the edge in a race in which “there’s an excitement deficit.”

Stone said he saw the benefits of marijuana for his father and grandfather who died from cancer.

"They found relief with medical marijuana. It eased their suffering," Stone said. "But I had to buy the marijuana illegally. And I'm glad I did. But there's no way this should be a crime."