Florida state records have revealed that the state has reportedly channeled millions of dollars from a settlement with opioid manufacturers and distributors into a campaign targeting the proposed Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana for adults over 21.
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The Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) recently allocated nearly $4 million from the Florida opioid settlement trust fund to Strategic Digital Services, a Tallahassee-based marketing agency, for an educational campaign on the “dangers of marijuana, opioid, and drug use,” specifically directed at Floridian families and youth. You can view the purchase order information HERE.
Two ads were recently released as part of this effort to highlight the potential mental health risks of marijuana use in teens, including links to schizophrenia. One advertisement claims that modern marijuana is “engineered by corporations all for one purpose: to rewire the human mind.”
Below is one of the ads:
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Research shows that marijuana can do real damage to the developing brains of young people — leading to higher risks of psychotic disorders, suicides, and learning loss. Protect your children from the risks of extensive marijuana use. pic.twitter.com/jc7gZM0ja8
— Florida Department of Children and Families (@MyFLFamilies) October 21, 2024
Although the ads do not mention the amendment by name, supporters of Amendment 3 argue they represent a deliberate effort by the administration to sway voters ahead of the November election.
READ: Former President Trump announces he will vote yes on Florida’s Amendment 3 on marijuana legalization
Funding Scrutiny from Amendment 3 Supporters:
The use of opioid settlement funds, intended to mitigate the opioid epidemic, is raising questions among Amendment 3 supporters who argue the campaign is cannibalizing public money for political ads.
The $4 million contract with Strategic Digital Services will be funded by Florida’s opioid settlement trust, established as part of a multi-billion dollar agreement to hold pharmaceutical companies accountable for their role in the opioid crisis.
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Over the next 20 years, Florida is slated to receive $3 billion from a nationwide opioid settlement, with funds directed toward combating the opioid epidemic. State law mandates the trust fund’s use in combating the opioid crisis, though it also includes provisions for broader substance use disorders.
The ads’ focus on a marijuana-focused campaign —rather than opioids—has raised questions about the DeSantis administration’s allocation choices in the run-up to the election.
Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, joined a bipartisan group of Amendment 3 advocates at a press event Friday, where he criticized the administration for using funds to allegedly advance a political agenda. “Tax dollars should not go to fund propaganda, bottom line,” Gruters said.
The DCF has yet to clarify if both recent ads fall under the $4 million contract with Strategic Digital Services, though they appeared after the contract was enacted, suggesting that opioid settlement money may be funding the campaign.
Anti-Amendment Campaigns:
In recent weeks, Governor DeSantis has intensified his anti-amendment campaigns, utilizing state resources against ballot measures like Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, the proposed amendment aimed at enshrining abortion rights in Floria’s constitution.
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READ: DeSantis escalates legal fight against Amendment 4 abortion ads, leveraging state resources in opposition
In numerous press conferences held across the state, the DeSantis administration warned of what he calls the “dangers” of legal marijuana, stating that he considers Amendment 3 as “more liberal” than laws in Colorado and California. At one press event, he invited a mother who lost her son to opioids to share how his struggle began with marijuana, which the administration described as a gateway to harder drugs.
Below is the referenced press event:(Note: The mother appears at the press conference starting at timestamp 37:30.)
Meanwhile, Florida’s First Lady Casey DeSantis and Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo have joined the anti-amendment efforts.
The First Lady has attended several events supported by law enforcement, where she has publicly opposed the amendment.
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“This is not about freedom. This is about corporate greed,” First Lady Casey DeSantis said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ladapo, previously criticized by federal agencies for spreading misinformation on COVID-19 vaccines, recently discussed the potential health risks of marijuana in a televised interview.
Upcoming Vote:
With early voting underway and a recent UNF poll showing 67% of people support Amendment 3, this election could represent a significant policy shift in Florida. While the DeSantis administration contends the measure risks public health, Amendment 3 advocates argue it would bring much-needed tax revenue to the state and regulate marijuana safely.
The final decision now rests with voters, who will cast their ballots on November 5. In Florida, each amendment requires a supermajority of 60% to pass, making your vote all the more critical in deciding the direction the state will go.
READ: What’s on Florida’s 2024 ballot?: A complete guide to the six proposed state amendments
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The big story: Students across Florida lost several hours of class time as their schools shut down for hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Once determining it was safe to resume classes, officials had another key decision ahead: How to make up the missed time, which for some children exceeded 50 hours. That’s nearly 5% of the year.
The choices included extending the school day, adding more days to the academic year and canceling vacations or parts of them.
“The driving question was constantly around, how do we make all the right moves for all the right reasons?” Pinellas County schools chief academic officer Donnika Jones said. Read more here.
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Eckerd College students return to campus after a month away because of hurricanes Helene and Milton, WUSF reports. The school moved to remote online classes after evacuating.
Hot topics
Lunch lines: The University of South Florida has cut ties with its longtime cafeteria services provider. The move will affect about 400 employees. • Duval County school cafeteria workers are discussing whether to walk off the job after reaching an impasse in contract talks seeking higher wages, WTLV reports.
Referendum politics: Opponents of the Hillsborough County school district’s local-option property tax referendum have made allegations against superintendent Van Ayres in their effort to detract support for the initiative, Florida Politics reports. • A campaign to extend Escambia County’s local-option sales tax supporting construction projects has strong support, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
Save Our School: Some Collier County residents are petitioning to prevent Bonita Springs Elementary School from being demolished, WINK reports. The school was damaged in Hurricane Irma. • Duval County residents want school district officials to consider equity, and not just the bottom line, as they prepare to shutter several schools as part of a cost-saving effort, Jacksonville Today reports.
School uses: The Highlands County school district is transforming its prekindergarten center, which sat about half vacant, to other program uses, Highlands News-Sun reports.
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Union busting: A group that tried to push out United Teachers of Dade says it won’t give up despite losing its initial effort, the Miami Herald reports.
Vouchers: Both the Democrat and the Republican seeking a state House seat representing Palm Beach want more accountability for Florida’s school voucher system, Florida Phoenix reports.
From the police blotter … The principal of a Lake County high school was arrested on an allegation of driving under the influence, WESH reports. • Schools in Bonifay in Holmes County have canceled all outdoor activities during a police investigation into a nearby weekend murder, WJHG reports.
Don’t miss a story. Here’s a link to Friday’s roundup.
Before you go … What’s that? New Wallace and Gromit?
There is still football left to play in Tallahassee despite the Florida State Seminoles being eliminated from bowl contention with four games remaining in 2024. Next up on the docket are the North Carolina Tar Heels as FSU returns to Doak Campbell Stadium for a Saturday afternoon affair.
The Tar Heels snapped a four-game slide with a 41-14 victory against Virginia on the road last weekend. North Carolina has turned to graduate transfer quarterback Jacolby Criswell, who has completed 124/217 passes for 1,660 yards with ten touchdowns to three interceptions, in the wake of Max Johnson’s season-ending injury. The team also sports one of the top running backs in the country in Omarion Hampton. The dynamic threat has rushed 181 times for 1,006 yards and nine touchdowns.
An interesting fact worth knowing coming into the week; North Carolina head coach Mack Brown has never defeated Florida State – his alma mater – during his career (0-8). Two of those losses came to Mike Norvell in 2020 (31-28) and 2021 (35-25).
READ MORE: Blue-Chip Wide Receiver Decommits From Florida State Following 1-7 Start
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Despite the history in FSU’s favor, the team enters the week, to no surprise, as a slim underdog in the matchup. According to early lines from DraftKings, Florida State is a +2-point underdog against North Carolina. The over/under is set at 50 points. FSU also trails +110 to -130 on the Moneyline.
This is the fifth straight game where Florida State has been regarded as the betting underdog. At this point, the Seminoles might not be favored to beat Charleston-Southern in a few weeks. Maybe that’s a little harsh but the product on the field is that bad and there aren’t many positives to take away from anything the team has done this season.
Florida State and North Carolina will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 2. The game will be televised on the ACC Network.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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READ MORE: Luke Kromenhoek’s Legs Spark Florida State’s First Touchdown Drive Against Miami
Stick with NoleGameday for more FREE coverage of Florida State Football throughout the 2024 Season
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• 19 Notes Regarding Florida State’s Sizable Loss To Rival Miami
• Full Comments From Mike Norvell Following Florida State’s Defeat To Miami
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• FSU Fans, Former Players React to First Loss to Miami In Four Years
• Florida State Falls to Miami For First Time In Four Years
No. 6 Miami cruise to a dominate 36-14 victory against its biggest rivals in the Florida State Seminoles.
No. 6 Miami Uses Ball Control Offense To Stuff Florida State 36-14
This was the first victory in four seasons against the long-time in-state rival as Miami Hurricanes head coach Cristobal has led the Hurricanes to its best season since the 2017 season. That season the Hurricanes ended up in the ACC Championship game before falling short to Clemson 38-3.
Now back on track to another appearance, the Hurricanes head coach talked post-game with an extra fire after the game.
Opening statement…
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“Good evening. I appreciate everyone being here. First off, big shoutout to the environment created by our fans, our people, the Miami Hurricane family that came from all over, local and from abroad. They were awesome. Just watching that brought back some awesome memories of playing in this game and certainly our players felt them and [they] impacted the game. And then on top of that, obviously, a very hard-fought game. We never really lost control of the game, but it took us a while to start pulling away. I think they did a good job with some of their coverages. They did put a little bit of pressure on the quarterback, but we pounded the ball really well. We ran the ball well and got downhill. We got hats on hats and ran through tackles. We were aggressive with some fourth downs. The defense was the story of the game. They just played their tails off. They were putting pressure on the quarterback. They made it really difficult to run the football. They were getting 11 hats to the ball all the time. They broke free from several just lasso-collar holding calls that we just have got to keep getting better at. But all in all, just very proud of our team. Two years ago, you know, we stood up here and talked about building it and it’s good to, a couple years later into this to see a victory like that and earn the title of state champions.”
On the resiliency of Mark Fletcher Jr.…
“That’s as hard as it gets. We see big Mark all the time. He’s always at practice. It’s kind of neat if you are a local player. Parents, they find their way to practice. [They] get away from their bosses a little bit and come out and get to see their sons. It’s one of the greatest things in the world. I remember seeing my parents, may they rest in peace, and that was about as difficult of a thing I’ve seen. Mark [Fletcher] Jr., is about as good of a human being, competitor, teammate, brother as you can imagine. It was felt by the entire organization. I mean, everybody knows him. He’s got the best seat in the house going forward, looking from above. I know he’s super proud of Mark. Mark, even the day of, as emotional as it was wanted to be around his bothers and his team. You trust that guy with your life because he does everything the right way, regardless of situation and circumstance. And then, just looking at him, just hearing him out, this is what he wanted and, on top of that, just as importantly, this is what he deserves. I think him and Damien Martinez are super tight and those two, along with of course Ajay [Allen], Jordan [Lyle], Chris [Johnson Jr.], it’s a tremendous tandem back there and it was good to see them have a great day. I think if any of us was in that situation, can you imagine? Can you imagine being able to do that? He’s just an elite, unique off-the-charts human being. He’s just made of the right stuff and credit to his parents. He was raised a certain way. That guy is as resilient as it gets. Our hearts, man. What can you say?”
On what it means to beat Florida State…
“It feels good because it’s good for the team because the team is 1-0. I think about maybe some of the personal stuff in the offseason for a few minutes and then I just blow it off. It’s never been that. We knew when we came here that we were going to get our teeth kicked in early. I probably spoke to several people in this room about, man, wow, this is quite a monumental task. We’ve got to flip this thing. We’ve got to flip this roster. All these other in-state schools are so far ahead. They have a foundation. They’ve been to bowl games. They’ve won conferences. We’ve got to start it up. And that’s painful, particularly when it comes to the trenches. I think the trenches tonight are a great indication of progress and the hard work by our entire organization, recruiting staff, our offensive line coach Alex Mirabal, Coach [Edwin] Pata, Coach Reggie [Bain], our defensive line coaches [Jason] Taylor, [Joe] Salave’a, [Todd] Stroud, [Devin] Santana. I mean, it’s a great example of working your butt off and keeping your head down and not worrying about all that crap that comes with rebuilds. I think it’s good for young coaches to not ever hesitate to take on rebuilds if they believe in it. Deal with all of the crap and nonsense for a little bit, but then start putting it together, start getting wins. We’re progressing but we’re not anywhere near where we want to be yet.”
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On the play of Damien Martinez…
“He’s been in some big ones. I think what people don’t realize is that he got here a little bit later than the rest so his learning curve was a little bit different. Everyone wants it to happen right now. Our summers are awesome. The way our training regimen and our player-led workouts are carried out, they are just elite, but it still takes time. We were chucking the ball around really well early on and today we still threw it around okay, but not as effective, but the last couple weeks, you seen the running game now getting in sync. You see how we run a lot of different plays than what he ran when he was at Oregon State. And now, he is really feeling comfortable in the system and what you see if just a very physical, tough dude. He’s hard to bring down. You’re not going to arm tackle him and he takes a lot of pride in making the first guy miss or running him over.”
On the Cam Ward touchdown reception…
“Texas to Texas, meaning [Elijah] Arroyo to Cam Ward. Two Texas guys, that was the name of the play. You want the story behind it? Down there, you get a lot of cover zero. It was just something that Coach [Shannon] Dawson cooked up with the rest of the staff and it was the right time to call it. It was the right time to call it and I think the fans got a kick out of it, as well and Cam got himself a touchdown.”
On the importance of the fourth quarter…
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“I know that when it comes to the fourth quarter, we win the fourth quarter. We win the fourth quarter, it’s very important to us. When we throw up four fingers, it means something. We’ve just always got to have intensity and energy. Those two guys back there exemplified that tonight. There’s nothing worse than a coach who just stands there with a thumb in his nose, you know what I mean. Whatever we always can do to help our guys and bring energy to the sidelines, we do. These guys bust our butts. It’s awesome to have an insane crowd, but it’s just as important to have a great sideline, to see your brothers and your teammates supporting you and bringing the juice.”
On going 1-0 this week…
Mario Cristobal: “All recruits, in-state, out of state, can now clearly see the trajectory of this program versus the other programs (in the state).”
“To me, the most important thing is that we play our best football. At the end of the day, all these games are playoff games. They’re all conference games. They all mean something. The goal is to be 1-0 and our goal is to be 1-0 and play our best football, as well. This was progress in that direction. Again, hats off to the defense. They set the tone. They did it with the front seven and then the backend guys, you know what they did tonight, they communicated really well. They were just thinking lockdown, lockdown, lockdown. That’s what we did earlier in the season. I think we’re back on track and doing that. We’ve got some things to clean up, but certainly looking forward to getting back in there and being 1-0 for the week. And, again, critically important to go out there and beat this program and to be undefeated in the state of Florida. I think it sends a strong message. I think all recruits, in-state and out-of-state, can now clearly see the trajectory of this program versus the trajectory of the other programs.
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