Fred Martin

Lifelong Suwannee County resident Fred Martin is seeking the office of sheriff of Suwannee County. He has already made his intention to run publicly known and actively seeks enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.

According to Martin, he is only about 100 signatures away from qualifying.

Martin readily acknowledges his support for legalized marijuana and quickly refers to a quote of Abraham Lincoln that is very important to him.

“Prohibition goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetites by legislation and make a crime out of things that are not crimes. A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles which our government was founded upon.”

Martin said that if he is elected, marijuana would automatically become legal in the county because of a reversed referendum.

“If I’m elected sheriff, that means the people want marijuana legalized,” Martin said. “It’s an old law.”

Martin, a disabled political activist, acknowledges that all drugs are not good and vows to enforce the laws on dangerous drugs.

“I am opposed to any chemical drug that you can die from,” Martin explained.

According to Martin’s wife, Wendy Martin, God knew that we were going to use the drugs that he made, such as marijuana, so he put inhibitors in them to keep us from killing ourselves.

Conversely, Martin is concerned with manmade drugs and vows to work to keep them off the streets.

“Pot heads aren’t violent,” Martin stated. “The only thing they’ll leave home for is a ding dong and a soda.”

As for violent crimes, trespassing and driving while under the influence, Martin vows to enforce the laws.

When asked about the current organization of the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office, Martin said that he would maintain the same setup and not ask anyone to do anything that he wouldn’t do.

Martin voiced concern over the amount of theft in the community and cited the limited jobs available. However, he visualizes the legalization of marijuana as alleviating that problem. With the legalization of marijuana, Martin says that it can be grown and sold locally and nonviolent users will come here to buy and use it. He argues that marijuana is not a gateway drug, but it does have additional purposes, including paper, fabric and renewable energy.

Martin said that he is qualified to hold the office of sheriff because he was born and raised in Suwannee County, knows politics.

“I love the state of Florida and America and think that everybody should be able to make a living without selling their soul for a hand of government gold,” Martin stated.

He asks anyone to call him at 386-330-6863 to discuss his views.