How would legalizing recreational marijuana impact justice system?

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Floridians are months away from deciding whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, and those in charge of enforcing the changed laws are sharing their perspectives on how legalized pot would impact Florida’s criminal justice system.

If at least 60% of Florida voters say “yes” to a proposed amendment in November, after six months it would no longer be a crime for an adult over 21 to possess up to three ounces (85 grams) of marijuana.

While the amendment hasn’t passed yet, marijuana possession convictions have declined dramatically in Florida over the past decade.

Data from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement shows 13,028 convictions stemming from statewide arrests in 2013. The number of possession convictions from arrests in 2023 was 2,267.

The data shows convictions slowed dramatically in 2019, dropping to 7,445 from 14,014 in 2018. Although Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, the law took effect in 2017 and smoking marijuana remained illegal for medical patients until state legislators changed the law in 2019.

Defense attorney Ari Goldberg also believes prosecutors are less eager to pursue simple marijuana possession charges unless they happen to accompany other more serious charges.

“Possession of marijuana under 20 grams is a misdemeanor,” Goldberg, whose firm specializes in drug and DUI cases, said. “It’s not even something that we see cited very often anymore, although it is still a crime.”

Personally, Goldberg believes “recreational marijuana use is long overdue.”

When he spoke with WPTV Thursday, Goldberg said he’d just taken on a new client charged with possession of more than 20 grams, a felony in Florida. If the amendment were to pass, that would no longer be a crime.

“If you were in possession of a certain amount of marijuana that was criminal, whether it’s a misdemeanor or felony, prior to the passage of the amendment, then I see nothing preventing legally the state attorney’s office from continuing their prosecution,” Goldberg said. “But I’m not sure that they would.”

Palm Beach County’s top prosecutor is waiting to see how he would handle pending marijuana possession charges if the amendment were to pass.

“I’m taking a neutral stance on this referendum,” Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said. “It’s a little premature to speculate on what would happen in the pending cases.”

Aronberg, a former Florida state senator, told WPTV he would continue to enforce laws as they are written. But if the amendment passes, lawmakers would still need to address the specifics of Florida’s new marijuana law.

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“I think there’s going to be a lot of confusion over the use of it, rather than just possession,” Aronberg said. “The Legislature is going to set up rules as to who’s allowed to sell this. And hopefully, they come up with a regulatory environment that, you know, strikes the right balance, because I do think this likely passes.”

He also said there would have to be limits on where it could be used.

“We want people to be able to do it legally and safely,” Aronberg said. “But you don’t want it to be just a free-for-all all where you know, you’re walking down the street everywhere you go, and it reeks of marijuana and there are people doing it in public.”

How the Legislature reacts to legalized marijuana is also something Martin County Sheriff William Snyder will watch closely.

“I would like to see marijuana remain illegal unless it’s medically prescribed,” Snyder said. “If the question is does legalizing marijuana make our job easier, I think the answer is unequivocally, no.”

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Snyder said he is most concerned about DUI enforcement.

“What you’ll have is more people driving under the influence of marijuana,” Snyder said. “You’ll have more challenges with traffic crashes determining if a person is under the influence.”

Unlike blood alcohol content, which is quickly determined by a breathalyzer test, Snyder said there is no way to test for marijuana use on the side of the road.

“There are some methodologies some specially trained deputies could do. But by and large, people smoking pot and driving if they get stopped by law enforcement will probably get away with it,” Snyder said. “I think that if (the amendment) does pass, one of the things I would look for in the regulatory side of it would be that the smell of marijuana and a car might be a prima facie case — that the person could be under the influence and give us a little more constitutional leeway in determining if the person has smoked pot.”

Both Aronberg and Goldberg are similarly concerned about DUIs if recreational marijuana were to become legalized in Florida.

“I hope it does not encourage people to get high and then hit the road,” Aronberg said.

“I suspect that we’ll see an increased number of marijuana prosecutions with the passage of the amendment should have passed by and whether those prosecutions will be successful is another question,” Goldberg said.