As Floridians head to the polls, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration is peppering the airwaves with commercials warning that ultra-powerful strains of marijuana “rewire the human mind” and accusing abortion rights supporters of spreading lies.

These ads popping up ahead of high-stakes votes on abortion rights and marijuana legalization are sponsored by you, the Florida taxpayer.

Determining the cost of these television, radio and online ads is difficult, and state officials are providing few details. Purchasing records suggest the state’s media campaign could cost more than $16 million. The marijuana legalization campaign puts the price tag at more than $50 million, basing that on an analysis of ad buys.

One thing is for sure: The DeSantis-led push using the public’s money is unlike anything seen in Florida politics in the past, said Ben Wilcox, research director at the government watchdog group Integrity Florida.

“You are ramming it down people’s throats and using our taxpayer dollars to do it,” Wilcox said. “It crosses what should be a very bright line. You don’t use taxpayer dollars for electioneering and campaigning.”

The stakes are high. Amendment 3 would legalize recreational marijuana. Amendment 4 would overturn a six-week abortion ban DeSantis signed into law and protect abortion rights until viability, usually considered to be about 24 weeks into pregnancy.

Both measures are on the Nov. 5 ballot and need 60% of the vote to pass. Polls have shown the votes could go either way.

DeSantis has vowed to defeat both proposed amendments, hosting events across the state slamming the measures.

In the months leading up to Election Day, four state agencies agreed to spend a combined $16.2 million with the Tallahassee-based marketing firm Strategic Digital Services on unspecified public information campaigns, according to purchasing records first reported on by the investigative website Seeking Rents.

Those agencies and the governor’s office didn’t respond to questions seeking more details on exactly w

That work is being done under those agreements or whether they include tasks unrelated to abortion and marijuana. Company officials at Strategic Digital Services didn’t return emails and a phone message seeking comment.

The Florida Department of Children and Families’ $5.1 million deal with Strategic Digital Services involves a campaign on the “dangers of marijuana, opioid, and drug use,” as well as “additional services related to mothers, babies, and families.”

Nearly $4 million of those funds came from Florida’s opioid settlement trust fund, according to a state database. That’s money Florida received as part of court settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors and dispensers. Florida is receiving $3 billion over 18 years to combat the opioid epidemic.

Amendment 3 supporters said those funds are being misdirected to target marijuana, instead of strictly addressing opioid abuse.

Purchasing records for the other agreements don’t include specific topics, only that the funds would be used for a “media campaign” and “public information campaign services.”

But the state spending coincides with a wave of abortion and marijuana-related ads sponsored by the Agency for Health Care Administration, the department of children and families, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Department of Health that have aired on television and online.

State agencies have the authority and “dedicated funding” to educate the public on important issues, Bryan Griffin, a spokesman for the governor, said in an email. He didn’t specify how much money had been set aside for those efforts.

“Of course, the state is going to educate Floridians on the dangers associated with drug use and ensure truthful information is disseminated regarding laws that protect the health of moms and their kids,” Griffin said when asked about the agreements with Strategic Digital Services.

The ads haven’t directly told Floridians how they should vote, but critics say they are biased and implicitly trying to sway the election.

“No matter where you stand on an issue, this is still a democracy and in a democracy we do not spend taxpayer dollars in advance of a political issue,” said state Sen. Joe Gruters, a Sarasota Republican who supports the marijuana amendment and opposes the abortion one. “Tax dollars are meant to be spent on our police, schools, roads and other public programs that make our state great, not political agendas.”

Gruters said he thinks the state’s advertising spending violates a Florida law prohibiting the use of tax dollars for political purposes. So far, though, the courts have dismissed such challenges.

Gruters joined incoming Florida Senate Democratic Leader Jason Pizzo and Orlando attorney John Morgan on Friday in condemning the taxpayer-funded ads.

“We, the taxpayers, have to say, ‘This is wrong. This shouldn’t be going on. Take your hands off our money,” said Morgan, who spearheaded past ballot initiatives that legalized medical marijuana and raised the minimum wage in Florida.

Morgan has endorsed this year’s recreational marijuana effort and appeared in a radio ad supporting it.

One of the state’s abortion ads features Dr. Steven Christie, a member of the Florida Board of Medicine. He takes issue with what he calls “misinformation” about Florida’s abortion laws and “lies that could convince women to not seek necessary care.” Christie says Florida allows abortions to protect the life and health of the mother and grants exceptions for rape and incest.

The segment counters ads by Amendment 4 supporters who say Florida’s six-week abortion ban is resulting in women with pregnancy complications being denied needed care. Supporters say the exceptions are problematic because women must jump hurdles to qualify. Women who are raped must show documentation, such as a police report or restraining order. Two doctors must sign off on a health exception.

Another ad targeting Amendment 3 accuses corporations of engineering marijuana to “rewire the human mind,” listing rapid-onset psychosis, addiction and schizophrenia as “common side effects of these ultra-powerful strains.”

“Protect your children from the dangers of gateway drugs like marijuana and opioids. Their future is on the line,” the ad’s narrator says.

Amendment 3 supporters say legalization would allow law enforcement to focus on serious crime by cutting out black-market cartels and ensure pot users have access to a safer, regulated product.

State officials have prevailed in lawsuits challenging the legality of such taxpayer-funded messaging. Pizzo, D-Sunny Isles Beach, sued over an ad from the Florida Department of Transportation warning that DUI crashes have increased in states that have legalized marijuana.

He contended that the department lacked the authority to “approve and expend funds to influence the outcome of elections.” The agency spent $150,000 and tapped into a program from the Florida Association of Broadcasters that airs public service announcements at no charge or a discounted rate, according to the suit.

Judge Angela C. Dempsey dismissed Pizzo’s challenge, writing that the agency had the budgetary authority to spend funds on public service announcements and the ad does not mention Amendment 3, voting or the election.

Judges also swatted down lawsuits accusing DeSantis’ administration of unlawfully interfering with the abortion rights amendment. Abortion rights supporters challenged a state website that proclaims Amendment 4 “threatens women’s safety.”

Even without the state-funded commercials, the two ballot initiatives have generated huge sums of political spending.

As of Oct. 4, Amendment 3 had seen $68 million in ad spending with $55.1 million in favor of legal marijuana and nearly $13 million opposing it, according to the media tracking firm AdImpact.

Amendment 4 supporters had spent $22.2 million promoting the abortion rights measure, while opponents had put $10.5 million into attacking it.

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