Miami-Dade County voters largely rejected Amendment 3, the Florida proposal to legalize recreational marijuana, signaling that the area’s generally conservative stance on cannabis is still holding strong.
OG Article: here
View our Fair Use Policy: here
While 56% of Florida voters supported the amendment, only 49% of Miami-Dade voters voted in favor, making it one of the most conservative counties on the issue. Similar resistance was seen in Collier and Sumter counties, which, like Miami-Dade, were among the few to see support fall below 50%.
Analyses suggest that demographic and cultural factors played significant roles. Hispanic-majority neighborhoods, traditionally more conservative on social issues, overwhelmingly opposed the amendment, as did some Republican and independent voters who had supported former President Donald Trump. In Hialeah, for instance, 75% voted for Trump, yet only 35% favored recreational marijuana legalization. Meanwhile, Black-majority neighborhoods and most white-majority neighborhoods in Miami-Dade showed more support for the amendment.
Hialeah Mayor Esteban Bovo attributed the opposition to concerns over quality of life, a sentiment shared by West Miami Mayor Eric Diaz-Padron, who cited perceived flaws in the amendment’s text as influencing voter skepticism. He noted that DeSantis’ administration’s campaign, which highlighted these concerns and claimed the amendment would only benefit large corporations, was effective in swaying public opinion.
Despite growing support for cannabis reform across the U.S., Amendment 3’s failure indicates that legalization efforts in Miami-Dade face cultural and political hurdles. Miami-Dade County’s opposition to recreational marijuana highlights an ongoing tension between statewide trends toward legalization and local cultural conservatism.
Comments