Florida is using millions of dollars in settlement money from opioid manufacturers and distributors to bankroll Governor Ron DeSantis's ongoing anti-cannabis campaign, according to state records. State law stipulates the opioid settlement trust fund is meant to "abate the opioid epidemic" and provide resources for affected communities.
However, the state Department of Children and Families, reported the Tampa Bay Times on Friday, spent $4 million to pay a marketing agency for an "advertising campaign aimed at educating Floridian families and youth about the dangers of marijuana, opioid, and drug use," raising questions about misusing resources earmarked for the opioid crisis.
The outlet noted that the department did not respond to questions about what that campaign includes, though in recent weeks it has released two ads warning about the dangers of marijuana use among teenagers, linking cannabis use to schizophrenia and other mental illnesses.
One menacing ad says that marijuana now is "engineered by corporations all for one purpose: to rewire the human mind."
Misuse Of Funds
Funds from the opioid settlement were secured through lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies and distributors, such as Purdue Pharma, which was responsible for fueling the opioid epidemic that killed hundreds of thousands of Americans, many from overdoses connected to Purdue’s OxyContin.
Read Also: DeSantis Battles Former Allies Donald Trump, Jeff Roe Over Florida’s Cannabis Legalization Push
Bipartisan Group Speaks Out
A group of bipartisan officials and public health experts voiced concerns over what they said was a misuse of public money by the DeSantis administration to undermine the cannabis legalization initiative, known as Amendment 3, but mostly noting that such a campaign does not align with the primary purpose of the opioid settlement. Over the next 20 years, Florida is expected receive about $3 billion in money from lawsuits.
"Under no circumstance should the state government be able to decide, without input from the legislature, that $50 million owed to the taxpayers will be spent on a political agenda," said attorney John Morgan in a press conference Friday along with State Senators Joe Gruters (R) and Jason Pizzo (D).
Other Tax-Payer Funded Ads
A tax-payer-funded ad in September sparked outrage when the Department of Transportation (DOT) equated cannabis with DUI crashes, saying that legalized marijuana is “putting everyone at risk."
Another in mid-October stunned many Floridians when the DOT came out with ad in which three sheriffs make various claims about the harms of cannabis, including one who suggested that marijuana use is associated with a greater risk of domestic violence.
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