‘Smoke-free’: Hialeah passes resolution to limit marijuana should Amendment 3 pass

Less than six months before Florida residents decide whether to pass Amendment 3, which will allow adults over 21 to purchase cannabis products for non-medical, personal consumption, Hialeah passed a resolution opposing the proposal.

“If Amendment 3 passes, the City of Hialeah will fully advocate for and take proactive measures to maintain a social, smoke-free social environment within the city,” states the resolution unanimously approved by Hialeah council members at an April 23 meeting. “The mayor and City Council of the City of Hialeah oppose Amendment 3 to the Florida Constitution, Adult Personal Use of Marijuana.”

The resolution does not, however, explain what proactive measures the city would take in the event that Amendment 3 passes in November.

Councilwoman Monica Perez, who proposed the resolution, stated that she has been working for several years to prevent the imminent impact that the approval of recreational marijuana could have on Hialeah.

“I have been working since 2021 on an ordinance that prohibits smoking tobacco and e-cigarettes in our parks, knowing that in the future marijuana could be approved. By containing it, I wanted to include the term ‘smoke-free’ in our notices,” Perez said.

This resolution follows a debate in the April 9 session when Councilwoman Angelica Pacheco proposed to discuss creating an ordinance prohibiting marijuana, “anticipating what could be voted on in November.”

Although recreational marijuana is still illegal in Florida, Pacheco believes it is essential to establish regulations that discourage its use.

The councilwoman claimed at the previous council meeting, she had personally witnessed marijuana use outside a Publix supermarket in the city, where managers said that they would not receive much police support if they called authorities. But Mayor Esteban “Steve” Bovo criticized her comments saying “asking the board to pass a piece of legislation that is unnecessary is totally useless.”

The debate between the mayor and Pacheco became tense when Bovo stated, “I know what you’re trying to do, creating something that may not be necessary just to appear on the radio and talk about it.”

Bovo sarcastically mimicked Pacheco, saying, “What I propose is that we create an ordinance that says heroin use is illegal, fentanyl is illegal.”

“I understand you’ve only been a councilwoman for four months, but perhaps your time to honor yourself will come to an end quickly,” Bovo said.

In response, Pacheco angrily replied, “In your office, you told me that if I wasn’t on your side, I wouldn’t be successful.” The mayor, rising from his seat, called her a “liar” in Spanish and, as he walked down the stairs from the chamber, referred to her as chusma (trash).

After the dramatic debate from the previous meeting, Perez reminded the council that Hialeah could only pass a resolution because they do not know what the voters of Florida will decide in November.

Is marijuana a problem in Hialeah?

The council’s unanimous approval of the resolution is at odds with what reports show to be major concerns affecting the community.

Councilwoman Perez said that reports from the Hialeah Community Coalition show that the main problem facing young people is alcohol consumption and then tobacco.

“We don’t even have marijuana in the top substances our young people are exposed to,” Perez said.

Jose Torres, Executive Officer of Hialeah’s Police indicated that in the last three years, there have been 597 drug-related arrests, with only 38 of these for marijuana, representing 6.36% of the total detentions in the city.

Deputy City Attorney Barbara Govea, who worked for 19 years in the Miami-Dade County Prosecutor’s Office, explained that minor offenses involving marijuana possession and consumption had stopped being pursued in the county due to the difficulty police officers faced in determining whether the person was consuming cannabis or hemp, a variety of marijuana that has been legal in Florida since 2019.

This isn’t the first time Hialeah has taken a stance against cannabis: In 2018, under the administration of Carlos Hernandez, the city passed an ordinance prohibiting dispensaries for the sale of medical marijuana in Hialeah.

The Hialeah council’s resolution appears to be in line with Governor Ron DeSantis and other state officials, who also oppose the amendment, citing that the language of the amendment will make it difficult for the state to regulate the cannabis industry.

Recently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced a historic shift in American drug policy, stating its intention to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. This decision could have far-reaching ripple effects across the country.