Christine Jordan Sexton
Trulieve, one of the state’s largest medical marijuana companies, has now put up nearly $65 million to help get Amendment 3 passed.
The latest campaign finance reports show that Trulieve kicked in another $5 million in August to Smart & Safe Florida, the political committee backing the effort to legalize recreational marijuana.
The contribution from Trulieve — which has come under fire from Gov. Ron DeSantis for its role in boosting Amendment 3 — came 10 days after Citadel CEO and billionaire Ken Griffin dropped $12 million into a committee run by DeSantis Chief of Staff James Uthmeier that has launched an effort to try to defeat the initiative.
Smart & Safe Florida has now raised a total of $71.6 million over the past two years as part of the effort to get the measure before voters. Most of the funding has come from Trulieve although other companies have contributed in the past few months. The campaign report filed on Friday shows that the political committee has more than $15.3 million unspent.
The committee has already paid for television and radio ads urging voters to say yes to Amendment 3 and the latest report shows that it paid another $1.13 million to Ax Media. Ax Media is a media buying firm linked to Axiom Strategies and Jeff Roe, a well-known Republican consultant who last year helped run a super PAC that supported DeSantis’ unsuccessful run for President.
Meanwhile, campaign reports show that Keep Florida Clean — the anti-pot committee led by Uthmeier — only raised $286 after getting the large contribution from Griffin. But the latest report does show that the committee paid $40,000 to P2 Pathway Public Affairs, a Washington, D.C., firm with a team including some advisors and top campaign staff who worked on DeSantis’ re-election in 2022 and during his failed presidential campaign.
If passed by at least 60% of voters, Amendment 3 would allow adults in Florida to possess and use recreational marijuana. Medical marijuana was approved by voters in 2016.
Amendment 3 is opposed by DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida. But the measure has lined up support from some Republicans, including Sen. Joe Gruters, the former Chair of the Republican Party of Florida who is a longtime ally of President Donald Trump.
Two new polls released in the past week showed different outcomes for the proposed initiative. One poll from Florida Atlantic University contends that the amendment is falling short of the 60% support needed to pass, although it also found a significant number of voters remain undecided about the initiative.
The poll, conducted by FAU’s PolCom Lab and the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies in collaboration with Mainstreet Research, found that 56% of those surveyed are in support.
But a poll from USA Today/Suffolk University/WSVN released this week found that the amendment had 63% support and only 3.2% of voters are undecided. The FAU poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points, while the USA Today poll had a 4.4-percentage-point margin of error.
6 comments
Brian Kelly
August 17, 2024 at 3:48 pm
Legalize federally now. What’s legal to possess and consume in over half of the populated areas of The United States should not make you a criminal in states still being governed by woefully ignorant prohibitionist politicians.
Cannabis consumers in all states deserve and demand equal rights and protections under our laws that are currently afforded to the drinkers of far more dangerous and deadly, yet perfectly legal, widely accepted, endlessly advertised and even glorified as an All-American pastime, alcohol.
Plain and simple!
Legalize Nationwide Federally Now!
It’s time for us, the majority of The People to take back control of our national cannabis policy. By voting OUT of office any and all politicians who very publicly and vocally admit to having an anti-cannabis, prohibitionist agenda! Time to vote’em all OUT of office. Period. Plain and simple.
Politicians who continue to demonize Cannabis, Corrupt Law Enforcement Officials who prefer to ruin peoples lives over Cannabis possession rather than solve real crimes who fund their departments toys and salaries with monies acquired through cannabis home raids, seizures and forfeitures, and so-called “Addiction Specialists” who make their income off of the judicial misfortunes of our citizens who choose cannabis, – Your actions go against The Will of The People and Your Days In Office Are Numbered! Find new careers before you don’t have one.
The People have spoken! Get on-board with Cannabis Legalization Nationwide, or be left behind and find new careers. Your choice.
Ronnie Cash
August 19, 2024 at 7:15 am
The amount being spent, and the persistence with which this pro-pot pol files these screeds, just shows the amount of money that the pot forces are planning to make if this language passes. And it is all for them. There is not ONE bit of social good this amendment will do. It is all about directing an endless stream of cash into the pockets of the pot buys. Cash and only cash, from you and to them.
Dan Tana
August 19, 2024 at 1:49 pm
Has anyone figured out how to keep the God-awful smell of it away from those who have a right not to smell it? When it is odorless like alcohol, I’ll listen.
Brian Kelly
August 20, 2024 at 7:06 am
Odor also is is never a valid, reasonable, rational justification to keep anything illegal and to continue criminalizing and handing out life long permanent criminal records to American citizens. We can’t just arrest, lock up and hand out life long permanent criminal records to anyone who, heaven forbid, dares to make you temporarily smell things that you aren’t fond of smelling for a few brief seconds while you pass by in public places. Sound fair and reasonable?
Believe it or not, millions of Floridians have always used cannabis way before we ever considered legalization. Legalization is not adding anything new into our public places that wasn’t always there before. For the most part its the very same people who have been using cannabis while it was illegal that will be using cannabis when it’s legal.
To suggest that all of a sudden due to legalization that the scent of cannabis will be everywhere public is ludicrous, irrational, and rediculious! Get real, cut the bs and stop the silly smell exaggerations and lies.
Admit that the only real issue you have with cannabis legalization is your very own unjustifiable irrational personal moral issue with allowing other adult American citizens to legally enjoy cannabis without constant threat of lifelong criminalization, prosecution and persecution.
What we certainly don’t need are anymore people who feel justified in appointing themselves to be self-deputized morality police. We are very capable of choosing for ourselves if we want to consume cannabis, a far less dangerous choice over alcohol, and we definitely don’t need anyone dictating how we should live our own lives. We can’t just lock up everyone who does things prohibitionists don’t personally approve of.
Cindy
August 25, 2024 at 1:23 pm
T. Has put a big investment for it’s want to expand it companies finances on other consumers backs
J. Madison
August 26, 2024 at 4:25 pm
By making the move towards recreational marijuana, it allows our state legislative bodies to regulate things like public use of marijuana. By keeping pot illegal but decriminalizing it across the state for simple possession, the issues with dui and public smell cannot be fixed.
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