Recent editorials from Florida newspapers:
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Dec. 21
The Sun Sentinel on legalizing recreational marijuana:
When it comes to legalizing marijuana in Florida, the question is no longer whether it should be legalized. The question is whether lawmakers want a role in that process.
We think they should. But first, lawmakers have to accept a simple reality.
It’s time to legalize recreational use of marijuana for adults.
There are plenty of reasons, not the least is that resistance has become futile. The political will to legalize pot is strengthening. A growing majority of Americans want it.
And if the state Legislature doesn’t do it, the people of Florida will by passing a constitutional amendment. That should worry legislators, who typically blanch at the thought of the great unwashed having a say in directing policy.
Political leaders have the choice of getting ahead of the inevitable. That would allow them to shape legislation that best mitigates the downside of legalization.
And there is a downside. Marijuana can be addictive for some people, and prolonged use can alter brain circuitry and lead to damaging behavior. The economic and social costs can’t be ignored.
But those perils have to be weighed against the downside of keeping marijuana illegal. Decades of drug laws have created a criminal enterprise that causes more damage than the consumption itself.
The drug war in Mexico has led to some 270,000 murders since 2006. Millions of otherwise law-abiding Americans have been turned into petty criminals with records that follow them for life.
Almost 40% of drug arrests are for marijuana-related offenses, and more than 90% of those are for simple possession, according to FBI data. Black Americans are almost four times more likely to be arrested for possession than whites despite using the drug at a similar rate.
The time and money spent on enforcement could be better spent on treatment and tackling serious crimes. After Colorado and Washington legalized pot, their clearance rates - the frequency of solving crimes increased for violent and property crimes.
Many Florida municipalities no longer bother to pursue convictions. Orlando police issue citations for minor marijuana offenses.
The simple fact is the black market for pot cannot be suppressed. In that sense, criminalizing it is like Prohibition - a lost cause.
Almost 90 years after that failed experiment, people today struggle to answer a simple question: Why do we accept alcohol with all its social costs (95,000 deaths a year linked to excessive drinking), but not marijuana?
The potential upside of legalization also can’t be ignored. A 2015 Duke University study showed Florida could make $120 million a year if it legalized and taxed marijuana, and that number would increase every year.
Then you throw in the fact that two-thirds of Americans favor legalization, according to most polls. Four more states legalized pot in the Nov. 3 election, including conservative states like Arizona, Montana and South Dakota. The U.S. House last week passed a bill that decriminalized pot nationally.
Only five Republicans voted for it, but two - Matt Gaetz and Brian Mast - are from Florida. On the state level, Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg and Rep. Carlos G. Smith (D-Orlando) filed adult-use cannabis bills during the last lawmaking session.
Both bills died in committee, but the Tallahassee Democrat reported both legislators plan to reintroduce them in 2021. When Smith proposed a legalization bill in 2019, one of the co-sponsors was Anthony Sabatini (R-Howey-in-the-Hills).
When an uber-liberal like Smith and a fire-breathing conservative like Sabatini agree on an issue, the implications are impossible to ignore.
Unless you’re Senate President Wilton Simpson.
When asked in November whether pot legalization would get serious consideration in the 2021 legislative session, Simpson’s one-word answer echoed Nancy Reagan’s drug war slogan from the 1980s.
He just said “No.”
Even if the Legislature passed a legalization bill, Gov. Ron DeSantis has said he would never sign it. But the will of the people won’t be dismissed so casually.
As with a $15 minimum wage, medical marijuana, voting rights for former felons and other issues, the remedy to an obstinate government will be a constitutional amendment.
It probably will be bankrolled by the marijuana industry. The one most likely to make the 2022 ballot is backed by two medical cannabis companies.
Though the amendment would regulate the sale and marketing of marijuana, there’s an inherent conflict when private enterprise is involved in drug policy. Business models are built on attracting more customers, not fewer.
State legislation would not have profit as its sole motive. Lawmakers could get ahead of shaping rules that would tightly regulate testing, potency and labeling of products, all of which would lead to fewer long-term customers and better health outcomes.
Like it or not, at some point soon, marijuana legalization is going to get done in Florida. It’s the job of lawmakers to see that it gets done right.
That won’t happen if all they do is just say no.
Online: https://www.sun-sentinel.com/
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Dec. 20
The Daytona Beach News-Journal on a data analysis that determine the state lacks a Christmas Spirit:
Every now and then, a pool of data comes bubbling up that is so significant and eye-opening that – for the sake of public health and safety, for the sake of common decency – we cannot ignore it.
An annual Christmas Spirit report prepared by telecommunications giant Centurylink is not such an event. Not even close.
But it does have us more than a bit cranky. You see, Centurylink has determined – based on its own data analysis – that Florida is the Grinchiest of all 50 states. We are as cuddly as a cactus, the report implies. As charming as an eel.
This is a scurrilous accusation, and we must rise to defend our state’s honor. Dueling is, regrettably, illegal (and we’re not exactly sure who would fight who in this scenario). But we think the Christmas Spirit report is wrong, both in its choice of data points and the conclusions it draws. Florida has plenty of Christmas spirit, gosh dang it, and we aim to prove it.
Start with the metrics the report focused on. They include:
- Internet searches for things like Christmas movies, and holiday music streams. We’re not sure where Florida ranks here, but we’re willing to bet it’s low, and there’s a good reason for that: While our neighbors in the frozen North might be huddled in their houses and desperate for entertainment, Floridians have been enjoying glorious weather – and have plenty of socially distant options for outdoor fun.
- Online shopping for things like Christmas cards, ornaments, wrapping paper and “Elf on a Shelf.” There’s a rational explanation for this as well. First, Florida’s population skews older and – despite the pandemic – older Americans are still less likely to shop online. Meanwhile Floridians have more options for in-person shopping. We have more retail space per capita than most states, and though Florida hasn’t been spared the “retail apocalypse” that’s been shuttering brick-and-mortar stores across the nation, vacancy rates are lower here. Hopefully, some of that shopping is taking place at local, independent merchants as well as big-box stores. Of course, we can’t say for sure what Floridians are buying, but it’s a safe guess that wrapping paper, ornaments and other Christmas-themed merchandise are on the list. (The less said about Elf on the Shelf, the better.)
- The number of Christmas tree farms per capita. Oh, come on. Florida never had a shot at this one: Its climate doesn’t lend itself to growing the bushy firs and Scotch pines that are usually sold as cut Christmas trees, though there are a few farms where you can buy less traditional alternatives. In this category Florida should have been allowed a substitute: The number of cars sporting detachable antlers, for example. Or the prevalence of lawn ornaments made from no-longer-needed snow shovels. Do other states have annual gatherings of surfing Santas? Surely that’s worth a few points.
- Charitable giving. Arguably, this is the best measurement of holiday spirit. The IRS says Florida residents claim about 1.7 % of the state’s adjusted gross income in charitable deductions which doesn’t rank with the most generous states, but puts us just a hair above the national average. But tax forms don’t tell the whole story, and people across Florida can attest to the tremendous outpouring of community generosity they’ve seen this year. Later this week, we’ll talk more about that.
Of course, we readily admit that Christmas spirit is in somewhat short supply this year – for all of us, from Key West to Seattle, from New York to San Diego. We’re missing friends and family. We’re worried about the economy.
But things will get back to normal. And when they do, Floridians will still have a spirit-booster that no amount of number-crunching can quantify: We live here, in funny, sunny Florida, with gorgeous beaches no more than a hour’s drive from any city and a never-ending stream of relatives and friends angling for holiday invitations. We can take a little teasing – heck, we can take a lot. Because we are blessed to be here. And we know it.
Online: https://www.news-journalonline.com/
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Dec. 19
The Gainesville Sun on Florida’s vaccination rollout plan:
As COVID-19 cases keep surging in Florida, the distribution of the first vaccinations this week offered hope that the pandemic will be ending in the coming months.
“This is our path forward out of this really challenging pandemic,” said Florida Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees, whose job includes overseeing the state health office in Tallahassee and the health departments in the state’s 67 counties.
Florida’s first vaccine shipments are being distributed to hospitals and long-term care facilities. The effort follows federal guidance to first vaccinate people most vulnerable to hospitalization and death from COVID-19 and the workers who care for them.
But a distribution plan for the rest of the state as vaccines become more widely available is still a work in progress, with just a draft plan posted online in mid-October. Rivkees told The Sun that the availability of vaccines and recommendations from federal advisory boards will determine distribution details.
“This is a fluid situation we’re dealing with here,” he said.
State officials would build public trust by releasing as many details as possible and show that people who are most at risk will continue to be prioritized. The state needs to be transparent in showing everyone’s place on the priority list and clear up confusion about how different group should expect to receive vaccines.
People need assurances that the wealthy or well-connected aren’t able to cut in line. As has been seen with experimental COVID-19 treatments, politically powerful people from the president on down have had access to care unavailable to most of the public.
Trust is critical to getting the greatest number of people possible vaccinated. At least 70% of the country needs to be immunized before the population gets broad protection through “herd immunity,” as public health experts told the USA Today Network’s Florida Pulse online discussion program this week.
After health care workers and nursing home residents, immunizing “essential workers” and other people who have been most impacted by the pandemic should be a top priority. Front-line workers from first responders to grocery store employees have allowed the rest of us to stay home and be safe, while Black and Latino communities have been disproportionately harmed by COVID-19.
The state must also make sure vaccines are distributed as soon as possible to both prisoners and corrections officers. The draft plan left out prisons and county jails, even though significant outbreaks have happened at these facilities.
The state is deferring to county health departments to figure out many of the details for distributing upcoming rounds of vaccinations. Florida Deputy Secretary for Health Dr. Shamarial Roberson said local officials understand the communities they’re serving and will make sure vaccines are distributed in an equitable way.
But the approach risks replicating how the state has ducked responsibility for everything from mask regulations to figuring out how to safely reopen schools. Local officials have been forced to find the support and expertise necessary to protect residents, without the proper resources and guidance from the state and federal governments.
DeSantis has downplayed the effects of COVID-19 and ways to prevent the coronavirus from spreading, while Rivkees has disappeared from public view during long stretches of the pandemic. Now is their opportunity to provide leadership that helps ensure the most people possible get vaccinated, with high-risk groups getting priority no matter their wealth or connections.
Online: https://www.gainesville.com/
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