Inside The Battle Over Cannabis Legalization In Florida

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With billions of dollars at stake, the Sunshine State will decide whether to legalize adult-use marijuana in November. But the ballot measure has some powerful enemies—including Governor DeSantis and a hedge fund billionaire. Here's who could tip the scales either way.

Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/willyakowicz/2024/08/22/inside-the-battle-over-cannabis-legalization-in-florida/

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Transcript
00:00Today on Forbes, inside the battle over cannabis legalization in Florida.
00:07This November, when voters decide who will become the next president of the United States,
00:12Floridians will also have the chance to vote on whether to legalize adult-use cannabis.
00:17If the Sunshine State votes yes on Amendment 3,
00:21it will become the 25th state in the U.S. to legalize recreational use,
00:25and one of only 14 Republican ones.
00:28If the measure passes, Florida would become the first red state in the American South to legalize recreational use.
00:35Kim Rivers, the CEO of Tallahassee-based True Leave,
00:39the state's largest cannabis company with 143 medical marijuana dispensaries across the state,
00:45believes the importance of Florida passing adult use cannot be overstated.
00:50Rivers tells Forbes,
00:53This is a pivotal moment in the trajectory of cannabis and ending prohibition.
00:57We have an opportunity here to make a meaningful impact on the national conversation.
01:01Florida would be a very big domino to fall.
01:05With only 12 weeks before Election Day and billions of dollars at stake,
01:09the fight to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida is too close to call.
01:14Home to the country's largest medical marijuana market,
01:17which now boasts $2 billion in annual sales,
01:20if the ballot measure passes,
01:22Florida's legal cannabis market could bloom into a $6 billion in annual sales industry by 2026,
01:29according to cannabis data firm Headset.
01:32To date, True Leave, which is also one of the country's largest legal cannabis outfits,
01:37has donated $65 million to Smart and Safe Florida over the last two years,
01:43the organization running the Yes on 3 campaign.
01:46According to campaign contribution data from the Florida Department of State Division of Elections,
01:51Verano, another medical marijuana operator, donated $2.5 million,
01:57while Cureleaf donated $2 million to the effort.
02:00In total, the campaign has raised nearly $72 million through early August.
02:06Boris Jordan, the billionaire CEO of Connecticut-based Cureleaf,
02:10which is Florida's second-largest operator,
02:13agrees that the passage of Amendment 3 would have national implications,
02:17as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is considering whether to reschedule marijuana under federal law.
02:23Jordan says,
02:25I think Florida going adult use forces the hand of the federal government to act.
02:29How can you not? You have California, New York, and Florida.
02:34The last one would be Texas, and we're done.
02:37While 70% of Americans believe cannabis should be legal, according to a Gallup poll in November 2023,
02:43ballot measures in Florida need a supermajority of 60% to be approved,
02:48and various polls have predicted opposite outcomes.
02:52According to a July poll conducted by the University of North Florida,
02:5564% of voters surveyed said they would vote yes on Amendment 3.
03:00This is slightly down from a poll conducted in late 2023, when 67% of voters said they would vote yes.
03:07In early August, a Florida Atlantic University poll found that only 56% of respondents planned to vote in favor of the measure.
03:15Jordan says,
03:17It's going to be a dogfight right to the end.
03:21Amendment 3 also has some powerful enemies.
03:24Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is strongly opposed.
03:27During a law enforcement conference last month,
03:30Governor DeSantis told a room full of sheriffs that marijuana legalization, quote,
03:34should not be on the ballot, and this whole matter is, quote, ridiculous.
03:39The Republican governor added, quote,
03:41It won't be good for law and order, and it won't be good for quality of life.
03:46Meanwhile, Ken Griffin, the hedge fund billionaire who moved his firm Citadel to Miami from Chicago in 2022,
03:53has also come out against legalization.
03:56Griffin, a Florida resident, recently donated $12 million to the fledgling Vote No on 3 campaign.
04:03And in an op-ed published in the Miami Herald earlier this month,
04:06Griffin cautioned voters not to repeat the mistakes of states like California, Colorado, and New York,
04:12all of which have legalized recreational cannabis.
04:15Griffin wrote, quote,
04:17No one wants the effects of widespread legalization of marijuana, skyrocketing crime, suffering among children,
04:24a decline in the quality of life in Florida's vibrant neighborhoods,
04:27but Amendment 3 would make it inevitable.
04:31For full coverage, check out Will Yakowitz's piece on Forbes.com.
04:37This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes. Thanks for tuning in.
04:45Forbes.com

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