It has raised more money than any other marijuana-related ballot initiative in a single election cycle so far, and is the most funded 2024 measure.
OpenSecrets, by Noah Kolenda
Florida is making its fifth ballot-driven attempt to legalize recreational marijuana, and more money is being poured into supporting this measure than any previous similar measure.
If Florida passes the 60 percent supermajority needed to ratify the ballot measure, it will join 16 other states and territories that have legalized recreational marijuana through ballot measures.
Smart & Safe Florida, a voting committee supporting Florida's recent push to legalize recreational marijuana, has set a new fundraising record, according to a June 10 campaign report. It has raised more money than any other marijuana-related ballot initiative in a single election cycle so far, and is the most funded 2024 measure.
Smart & Safe Florida has raised more than $40 million, even though there are about five months left until the election. This means the commission has officially surpassed the funding raised by California's Proposition 64, which previously held the record for the highest-funded recreational marijuana legalization ballot measure. The eight committees supporting California's proposal raised a total of $36.7 million during the 2016 cycle.
Jeanne Hanna, director of research at the Center for Political Accountability, said in an open secret that medical marijuana companies may be donating to this ballot measure instead of other political spending because of the potential risks and pitfalls. spoke.
“In the grand scheme of things, it's not a very common type of corporate spending to get involved in politics,” Hanna said of voting spending. “But when they attract money, they tend to attract a lot of things. That's because companies aren't supporting candidates who might support a variety of issues, so there's no widespread negative impact.” I think that's an area I'm thinking about.”
It's not just the historic total that Smart & Safe Florida received more votes than any other voting metric this year or its kind. Another record was broken by medical cannabis company Trulieve, which has 200 locations across the U.S., 137 of which are in Florida. The company's $8.25 million donation to Smart & Safe Florida in March broke the record for the largest single donor and the second-largest single donor contribution to U.S. recreational marijuana legalization efforts. The amount exceeded the amount donated.
Mr. Trulieve's contributions to Smart & Safe Florida totaled more than $34 million this election cycle as of June 10, nearly five times the next largest cumulative contribution to this type of initiative. corresponds to The company also committed an additional $20 million before the reporting date for this election cycle, bringing total spending on this measure to more than $54 million. That gift makes up more than 85 percent of the committee's funding.
Smart & Safe Florida and Trulieve did not respond to repeated requests for comment from OpenSecrets.
Robin Goldstein, director of the Cannabis Economics Group at the University of California, Davis, told OpenSecret that it is difficult to understand why Trulieve would make such an investment when it is difficult for recreational retailers in legal states to make a profit. said it was difficult.
“Many investors and analysts will say that it's a 'green rush' that will make a lot of money. Much of that is unrealistic,” Goldstein said. “The more legal markets open up, the more competition there will be, the more technology, scale and efficiency will be introduced into production, and the more people will be able to produce more and more cheaply.”
Medical pharmacies like Trulieve could give new entrants looking to open recreational-first dispensaries a head start. The language of the measure would allow existing Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs) to “acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, or manufacture such products and accessories related to cannabis for recreational purposes without obtaining a new license.” be sold and distributed. That is if the measure is adopted and its results and mechanics are not challenged in court, two of the first four measures failing to get this far.
Not all of Florida's early attempts to legalize recreational marijuana were struck down in court. Efforts to put the issue on the ballot failed in 2018 when an advocacy committee fell short of the 766,000 signatures needed at the time to put the measure on the ballot. A 2020 court case suffered a similar fate, when the committee supporting the bill decided to sue because it could not verify the signatures it had collected by the state's deadline.
The Florida Supreme Court struck down two more appeals in 2022 because the bill's summary language was deemed “misleading.” However, the current bill has been given the green light for a vote in November after meeting the required number of signatures and being approved by the Florida Supreme Court.
Another hurdle to passing the bill is that the Florida Constitution requires a 60 percent majority of voters to vote in favor of the bill. Only Colorado, Illinois, and New Hampshire require a standard majority of 50 percent or more to pass a bill. The rule has previously prevented marijuana use in the state.
Florida failed to pass a bill to legalize full-strength medical marijuana for the first time in 2014. That's because it received only 57% of the votes in favor, not enough to pass under supermajority rules. The measure would expand limited medical marijuana, known as “compassionate use,” which was originally legalized by the state Legislature earlier that year.
A medical marijuana expansion that would allow for the treatment of more conditions with a wider range of doses and product categories was ultimately passed on a ballot in Florida in 2016, with more than 71 percent voting yes.
A Fox News poll conducted in early June shows the new measures have the support they need. Of the more than 1,000 participants, 66% said they supported legalization.
The most recent June 10 filing reports no opposition fundraising efforts, but that is likely to change soon with the formation of the Florida Freedom Fund. The Florida Freedom Fund, created by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), is seeking to challenge both the bill legalizing marijuana and the bill codifying abortion rights in the state. Mr. DeSantis has publicly criticized both policies, calling them too “radical” and “extreme.” Florida Republicans have also been vocal in their opposition to both bills.
“Floridians have confidence that the Legislature passes laws that reflect the state's priorities. The Third and Fourth Amendments ensure that the only way to gain support for radical policies is to This is an unnecessary effort by an ever-shrinking minority that knows to confuse and mislead,” Florida Republican Party Chairman Evan Power said in a statement.
As for how this will impact future ballot measures to legalize recreational marijuana in other states, Goldstein said that with the possibility of federal legalization looming, Florida said the money flowing in to support ballot measures will continue to be an outlier.
“Once federally legalized, companies that grow cannabis or make e-cigarettes or other things in Florida will be able to produce it very cheaply in Wyoming and other places in the country where it's cheapest to produce cannabis. You're going to have to compete with all the companies that are doing that, and that's probably not Florida,” Goldstein said. “Florida is not a particularly cheap place to do business, and it's not a particularly good climate to grow outdoor weed, which is the cheapest way to grow outdoor weed on a large scale.”
Florida is not the only state in the country where recreational marijuana has become popular. South Dakota's Secretary of State on June 3 approved a similar action by the South Dakota Commission to Improve Marijuana Laws. The committee has not reported fundraising totals, and its next report is not due until two weeks before the election.
Money continues to flow into Florida's legalization fight, and the final total could be even higher. In the two-month period between the past two reporting deadlines, Smart & Safe Florida raised nearly $8 million in additional funding. With more than four months until voters decide, there is still time for the measure to increase further.
This article was produced in partnership with OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan nonprofit that tracks money in politics. Noah Kendola is a reporting intern at OpenSecrets. You can contact me at (email protected).
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