SunFest attendees agree: It's time pot was legal in Florida

WEST PALM BEACH — SunFest has always been a place where people felt free to let go and light up.

The wafting smell of skunk and clouds of smoke hung over roaring crowds at the music festival along the Intracoastal waterway in downtown West Palm Beach on Saturday, even though it is still illegal to smoke marijuana recreationally in Florida.

But that may change with a vote for a question on Florida’s ballot in November. If voters pass the measure, anyone 21 years old and older could use and possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana — and not more than 5 grams in a concentrated form — with certain restrictions.

The decriminalization of recreational marijuana use in Florida would change people's daily lives as an increasing number consider it a healthier alternative to alcohol and a way to soothe anxiety. Even before the vote, the drug is getting easier for people to get their hands on. All Floridians need to buy marijuana over the counter is a medical marijuana card, which is granted for ailments including anxiety or migraines.

Dr. George Andricopoulos, a physician with Releaf Medical, a medical marijuana clinic in Boynton Beach, was stationed Saturday at a booth at SunFest registering people for the cards all weekend — for the second year in a row. He planned to register about 120 people at SunFest for medical marijuana cards this weekend. Most of the people he diagnoses at his booth suffer from anxiety, insomnia or chronic pain.

“My patients say it’s the greatest thing in the world,” said the 82-year-old Andricopoulos, who charged $99 per registration. “They say, ‘I feel so much better, I sleep better and I now love my husband, who I hated all this time.'"

Andricopoulos said he thinks marijuana should be legal for recreational use in Florida so people can access it easier. He said his patients “swear by it” and have given up their sleeping pills and pain medication in its place.

There were eight marijuana dispensaries within a half-mile walk away from SunFest, where many make a quick pit stop before strolling to the entrance. The number of dispensaries in the city has grown rapidly, to the point that the West Palm Beach City Commission banned new medical marijuana dispensaries from opening shops in the city last summer.

The upcoming vote has been at the top of many festival-goers’ minds. While total attendance numbers weren't immediately available Saturday, SunFest typically attracts more than 85,000 visitors, according to its website.

David Zamora works at the closest dispensary to SunFest: CBD Boutique, which sits on the corner of Clematis Street. He said the store has made more sales this weekend than usual, but he expected more.

“People are already coming to the festival with (marijuana),” said 26-year-old Zamora of West Palm Beach. “But, people want to get high. Maybe there will be more business today, since it’s Saturday.”

CBD Boutique sells a range of cannabis products over the counter. Among them are THC-A cannabis buds, which Zamora said are a “legal loophole” to getting marijuana over the counter because it has a different type of THC. In Florida, anyone 21 and older can buy CBD products derived from hemp that doesn't contain more than 0.5 mg of THC per serving or 2 mg of total THC per package.

By the Ideal Nutrition stage near the waterfront around 3 p.m., children blew bubbles and did cartwheels while their parents ate spoonsful of Italian ice and fanned themselves in the Florida heat. Just around the corner, people smoked weed.

Chyna, a 25-year-old West Palm Beach resident who asked that her last name not be included, registered for a medical marijuana card Saturday. She said she thinks people smoke at music festivals to “chill.” She is on antidepressants and anti-anxiety medication that she hopes to quit with the help of marijuana.

Chyna said she is not sure how she will vote on the question in November because she doesn’t want people to abuse the drug. “It’s a bad-apples-in-every-bunch type of thing,” Chyna said. “It helps people who are anxious act like a normal human being. But, obviously, there are people who abuse it.”

Jamie Zieman, the assistant manager for GrowHealthy, a cannabis dispensary in Stuart that shared a booth with Andricopoulos on Saturday, said she also does not know how she will vote on the issue in November.

She said that legalizing it recreationally may not be necessary with the ease people already have with getting the medical cards. “Some people have a hard time just getting out of bed nowadays,” said 26-year-old Zieman. “Life is tough, so any little thing helps. We really do treat (marijuana) as medicine.”

Zieman said that marijuana is not a gateway drug if people use it “properly” to treat PTSD, anxiety, eating disorders or other mental health issues. She thinks it is popular at music festivals because it is a social connector, too.

“It’s a way to bring people together,” Zieman said. “It doesn’t matter what generation you’re from. If you have a joint that smells good, you can connect with the person next to you and make a new friend.”

Others completely support the legalization of marijuana in Florida.

“There’s no reason for it not to be legal,” said David Ridley, 57, of Cape Coral. “It’s the same as alcohol.”

Hailey, a 22-year-old who asked not to include her last name, said it helps people “loosen up a little” and she hopes it becomes legal soon in the state.

Shannon Fox-Levine of Wellington said that marijuana use or possession should not be criminalized.

“It’s kind of like drinking alcohol,” 54-year-old Fox-Levine said. “Anytime alcohol is around, I think marijuana is, too.”

Jennifer of Boynton Beach, who asked not to include her last name, concurred. “People smoke marijuana for the same reason they drink beer,” the 48-year-old said. “It’s probably even better for your body at the end of the day.”

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: With pot legalization on ballot in Florida, SunFest attendees weigh in