Inside The Battle Over Cannabis Legalization In Florida
It’s only 12 short weeks before Election Day
This November, when voters decide who will become the next president of the United States, Floridians will also have the chance to vote on whether to legalize adult-use cannabis. If the Sunshine State votes “yes” on Amendment 3, it will become the 25th state in the U.S. to legalize recreational use, and one of only 14 Republican ones. If the measure passes, Florida would become the first red state in the American South to legalize recreational use.
Kim Rivers, the CEO of Tallahassee-based Trulieve, the state’s largest cannabis company with 143 medical marijuana dispensaries across the state, believes the importance of Florida passing adult-use cannot be overstated. “This is a pivotal moment in the trajectory of cannabis and ending prohibition,” Rivers tells Forbes. “We have an opportunity here to make a meaningful impact on the national conversation. Florida would be a very big domino to fall.”
With only 12 weeks before Election Day and billions of dollars at stake, the fight to legalize adult-use cannabis in Florida is too close to call. Home to the country’s largest medical marijuana market, which now boasts $2 billion in annual sales, if the ballot measure passes, Florida’s legal cannabis market could bloom into a $6 billion industry (annual sales) by 2026, according to cannabis data firm Headset.
To date, Trulieve, which is also one of the country’s largest legal cannabis outfits, has donated $65 million to Smart & Safe Florida over the last two years, the organization running the Yes On 3 campaign, according to campaign contribution data from the Florida Department of State Division of Elections. Verano, another medical marijuana operator, donated $2.5 million, while Curaleaf donated $2 million to the effort. In total, the campaign has raised nearly $72 million through early August.
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