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The campaign behind a Florida ballot measure to legalize marijuana is reaching out to veterans in an effort to build voter support for the the reform, which will appear on the state\u2019s ballot this November<\/a>.<\/p>\n In an email to supporters Friday, the campaign, Smart and Safe Florida, said it\u2019s hoping to \u201cgrow one of the many coalitions we are building in Florida: Veterans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur goal is to raise awareness among voters about the importance of cannabis as a safer alternative to synthetic opioids for treating PTSD and related conditions among veterans,\u201d wrote the campaign, explaining that organizers are \u201clooking to engage with veterans across the state of Florida to support our cause.\u201d<\/p>\n The email includes a link to sign up for the campaign\u2019s veterans\u2019 coalition<\/a> and volunteer to share opinions \u201cpublicly, either via newspaper and\/or online publications\u201d or \u201con camera to be shared with voters through our campaign platforms.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNobody has done more in laying it on the line to protect our individual liberties and freedoms than our veterans,\u201d the campaign\u2019s email says. \u201cAs most of you know, many veterans and veteran groups have publicly spoken out about their support for adult access to cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n Floridians would need to pass the medical marijuana industry-backed initiative with at least 60 percent of the vote<\/a> for it to become law. New polling released by USA Today\/Ipsos this week suggests that might be a tall order, however: The survey found that 56 percent of Florida registered voters and 49 percent of Florida adults overall<\/a> back the cannabis measure.<\/p>\n If approved, the measure would change the state Constitution to allow existing medical cannabis companies in the state, such as Trulieve, the campaign\u2019s main financial contributor, to begin selling marijuana to all adults over 21. It contains a provision that would allow\u2014but not require\u2014lawmakers to take steps toward the approval of additional businesses. Home cultivation by consumers would not be allowed under the proposal as drafted.<\/p>\n Adults would be able to purchase and possess up to one ounce of cannabis, only five grams of which could be marijuana concentrate products. The three-page measure also omits equity provisions favored by advocates, such as expungements or other relief for people with prior cannabis convictions.<\/p>\n Economic analysts from the Florida legislature and the office of Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has called the proposal \u201cradical,\u201d estimate that the marijuana legalization initiative would generate between $195.6 million and $431.3 million<\/a> in new sales tax revenue annually if voters enact it. Those figures could increase considerably if lawmakers opted to impose an additional excise tax on cannabis transactions that\u2019s similar to the ones in place in other legalized states.<\/p>\n Nearly all of the campaign\u2019s financial backing has come from existing medical marijuana businesses, predominantly multi-state operators. Last week, the Florida Division of Elections (DOE) released the campaign finance activity report from the first quarter of the year<\/a>, showing nearly $15 million in new contributions.<\/p>\n Trulieve, the main financial backer of the initiative, led the pack again with $9.225 million in donations during the first quarter. That follows the company previously contributing\u00a0about $40 million as advocates\u00a0worked to collect more than one million signatures to qualify for ballot placement<\/a>.<\/p>\n DeSantis, for his part, has predicted voters will reject the marijuana initiative in November<\/a>. He\u2019s argued it will \u201creduce the quality of life\u201d in the state.<\/p>\n Meanwhile Trulieve\u2019s CEO said earlier this week that the reform could actually \u201cimprove quality of life\u201d for residents<\/a>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish:<\/strong><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the full text of the ballot title and summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cAllows adults 21 years or older to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise; allows Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers, and other state licensed entities, to acquire, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell, and distribute such products and accessories. Applies to Florida law; does not change, or immunize violations of, federal law. Establishes possession limits for personal use. Allows consistent legislation. Defines terms. Provides effective date.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 The Florida Chamber of Commerce released a poll in January showing that a marijuana legalization initiative that may appear on the November ballot enjoys majority support from likely voters\u2014but not quite enough to meet the state\u2019s steep 60 percent threshold for passage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Other previous polls have found that\u00a0voters are well-positioned to pass the legalization initiative<\/a>\u00a0with more than enough support. For example, the University of North Florida put out a survey in December that showed 67 percent of voters back the proposal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, there\u2019s significant interest in how\u00a0former President Donald Trump, a Florida resident, will vote on the cannabis initiative<\/a>, and whether he will publicly support or oppose it.<\/p>\n Also, a Florida bill that sought to\u00a0cap THC potency if voters approved the legalization initiative<\/a>\u00a0at the ballot died this session, much to the relief of cannabis advocates and stakeholders.<\/p>\n Legislation to\u00a0restrict consumable hemp products and ban delta-8 THC<\/a>\u00a0was approved by lawmakers and awaits DeSantis\u2019s action.<\/p>\n Separately, a House subcommittee recently advanced a medical marijuana bill that would\u00a0waive patient registration and renewal fees<\/a>\u00a0for service-disabled military veterans.<\/p>\n Despite his opposition to the initiative, DeSantis, the former GOP presidential candidate who dropped out of the race in January, previously accurately\u00a0predicted that the state\u2019s highest court would ultimately allow the measure on November\u2019s ballot<\/a>.<\/p>\n Attorney General Ashley Moody (R) successfully petitioned justices to\u00a0prevent an earlier 2022 legalization initiative from receiving voter consideration<\/a>.<\/p>\n DeSantis also weighed in on another relevant cannabis policy issue earlier this year when, while still a presidential candidate, he said that\u00a0he doesn\u2019t believe the federal gun ban for state-legal marijuana consumers is constitutional<\/a>. Florida\u2019s former agriculture commission, Nikki Fried,\u00a0brought a lawsuit against the Biden administration over the rule<\/a>, though the governor did not get involved.<\/p>\n Prior to dropping out, DeSantis also said that if elected president, he would\u00a0\u201crespect the decisions that states make\u201d on marijuana legalization<\/a>\u00a0despite his personal view that the reform has a \u201cnegative impact.\u201d<\/p>\n While DeSantis doubts the cannabis initiative will receive the requisite 60 percent of the vote at the upcoming election, the Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the measure is optimistic. And they announced last week that they\u2019ve\u00a0raised an additional $15 million from a variety of major cannabis companies<\/a>\u00a0as it gears up for an effort to raise awareness about the measure among voters.<\/p>\n Justice Department Is Investigating Marijuana-Related Businesses Over COVID Relief Loans, Industry Sources Say<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Recruits Military Veterans For Media And Voter Outreach<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The campaign behind a Florida ballot measure to legalize marijuana is reaching out to veterans in an effort to build voter support for the the reform, which will appear on the state\u2019s ballot this November. In an email to supporters Friday, the campaign, Smart and Safe Florida, said it\u2019s hopingContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":74242,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74243,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74241\/revisions\/74243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Recruits Military Veterans For Media And Voter Outreach<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"