As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) marches forward in his campaign to oppose a marijuana legalization ballot initiative ahead of Election Day, the state Department of Health and surgeon general are promoting new warnings about the potential impact of cannabis on youth.
DeSantis has faced criticism in recent weeks over the use of taxpayer dollars in state agency anti-cannabis ads that advocates say are implicitly designed to influence voters as they prepare to decide on the legalization measure, Amendment 3. Now the Department of Health and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo are putting new weight behind that messaging.
Updated guidance from the health department that was published on Tuesday claims that underage marijuana use has driven spikes in poison control calls and emergency room visits. And it said marijuana consumption “can have significant adverse effects on cognitive and mental health.”
Specifically, the department said that cannabis is associated with lower IQs and greater risks of addiction, schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.
Like the ads promoted by various state agencies in recent weeks, the notice about the updated guidance doesn’t specifically mention Amendment 3. But advocates feel the timing and content of the warnings aren’t coincidental and are engineered to affect the
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