Trulieve Cannabis Corporation (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) is investing more than $60 million in this year's recreational marijuana legalization campaign in its home state of Florida, and on Tuesday announced that its CEO )'s Kim Rivers said the following at the company's quarterly results conference: Let's tackle another “shameless plug”.
Rivers said Florida voters and cannabis enthusiasts will be at Trulieve dispensaries in the Sunshine State to promote the Third Amendment, a ballot question that Trulieve hopes will pass in November. He said people can receive yard signs and bumper stickers for free. The measure would need to pass with support from at least 60% of voters to reach the supermajority threshold needed to amend the state constitution.
“This is a shameless plug for everyone in the state of Florida, and we encourage our partners to do the same,” Rivers said of the ballot initiative, repeatedly promoting the #Yeson3 campaign via conference call. . “You get a very, very high ROI for those dollars.”
Rivers said Florida's recreational market has $6 billion worth of potential and “a tremendous opportunity.”
“We currently have more than 650 dispensaries, and expanding to include adult use would be the biggest shift in legal cannabis history,” Rivers said.
Trulieve has been steadily expanding across much of the United States over the past few years, and has no plans to stop anytime soon. The company plans to open 25 more dispensaries this calendar year, including additional stores in Florida, where it already has 143 cannabis stores, according to its website. Its closest competitor, MUV, operates just 77 pharmacies, making it the industry leader in Florida, according to Florida Department of Health statistics.
Rivers hinted that legalization in Florida could be key to Trulieve's future, with the company planning to make political moves by November, including selling #Yeson3-branded pre-rolls and an eighth of marijuana flower. He said he would do more to step up the pressure.
“As we get closer to the election, we plan to launch additional products, and a portion of the proceeds will support the campaign,” Rivers said. “We take every opportunity to feature #YesOn3 in our stores, grand openings, physician education events, recruiting events and community events.”
Rivers cited a recent poll conducted in Florida showing zero opposition to legalizing adult use among voters ages 18 to 29, and 82 percent opposition among voters ages 30 to 39. He said he had the support of He added that the campaign is supported by more than 70 public figures and organizations, including politicians, doctors, trade unions, law enforcement officials and celebrities.
And of course, Mr. Trulieve did not sit idly by while the campaign was underway.
“Following the passage of this initiative, we plan to rapidly increase idle capacity and prepare our retail network for adult-use sales,” Rivers told analysts on a conference call. “We fully expect our market-leading position to expand once adult-use sales begin.”
