{"id":74782,"date":"2024-04-30T11:33:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T19:33:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/30\/desantis-will-be-getting-involved-in-effort-to-defeat-marijuana-measure-on-florida-ballot\/"},"modified":"2024-04-30T12:45:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T20:45:41","slug":"desantis-will-be-getting-involved-in-effort-to-defeat-marijuana-measure-on-florida-ballot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/04\/30\/desantis-will-be-getting-involved-in-effort-to-defeat-marijuana-measure-on-florida-ballot\/","title":{"rendered":"DeSantis Will Be \u2018Getting Involved\u2019 In Effort To Defeat Marijuana Measure On Florida Ballot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is again lashing out at marijuana legalization as voters prepare to decide on a ballot initiative in November, warning that the reform would negatively impact quality of life in the state. The governor, who has mocked legalization repeatedly in a series of recent comments, signaled that he may be taking on a more active role in the effort to defeat the cannabis reform as Election Day approaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be getting involved in different ways on those initiatives,\u201d he said remarks Tuesday about the marijuana ballot measure and a separate proposal on abortion rights.<\/p>\n

The comments came as the governor announced the start of the state\u2019s \u201cFreedom Month\u201d tax holiday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like, OK, we have medical marijuana in Florida,\u201d DeSantis said, appearing to call into question whether registered patients in the state truly need cannabis products. \u201cI\u2019m not saying none of them are legit, but some of them, clearly they\u2019re doing it to get the card.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would we want to have more?\u201d the governor asked. \u201cYou want to walk down the street here and smell it? Do you want to\u2026not be able to take your family out to dinner because you\u2019re worried about it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook what\u2019s happened in Denver, Colorado. Look what\u2019s happened in Los Angeles, New York City,\u201d he continued, saying he\u2019s \u201ctalked to people that have moved from New York\u201d who tell him that it \u201creeks of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t want this state to be reeking of marijuana,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re doing fine. We don\u2019t need to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Watch DeSantis\u2019s marijuana comments, around 30 minutes into the video below:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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DeSantis also claimed the motives of the campaign behind legalization were profit-driven. \u201cThere\u2019s people that will benefit financially if these things pass, and that\u2019s what\u2019s driving this, is the ability for people to line their pockets,\u201d he said. \u201cOn the marijuana one, you\u2019re going to have marijuana everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s comments come on the heels of his warnings earlier this month that the proposed constitutional amendment would be \u201cnot good for families\u201d and \u201cnot good for [the] elderly.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

At the time, he urged voters to reject ballot initiatives that might seem vague or confusing\u2014including the cannabis measure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe marijuana one is written so broadly, you are not going to be able to restrict where people use it,\u201d DeSantis said, repeating a claim that the legalization campaign has said is untrue. \u201cUnderstand: Your life will be impacted by this. It will change the quality of life and our communities. You will smell it when you\u2019re walking down a lot of these streets, particularly in our urban areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart and Safe Florida, the campaign behind the ballot measure, has previously said that its proposal gives state lawmakers \u201cthe authority to limit outdoor and public consumption\u201d just like the state does for smoking tobacco products.<\/p>\n

DeSantis has previously\u00a0predicted voters will reject the marijuana initiative in November<\/a>\u00a0and argued that passage would \u201creduce the quality of life\u201d in the state.<\/p>\n

This week\u2019s most recent comments aren\u2019t the first time the governor has questioned medical marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people that have these cards,\u201d he said at the event earlier this month. \u201cYou know some of them do not have really, truly debilitating\u2014we know how that works. That is what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI did that,\u201d he repeated. \u201cI see the stores in all parts of the state. Do we really need to have, like, 10 times more of that than we do? No, we don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

Floridians would need to pass the medical marijuana industry-backed legalization initiative with\u00a0at least 60 percent of the vote<\/a> for it to become law. Recent polling released by USA Today\/Ipsos 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>\u00a0back the cannabis measure.<\/p>\n

A separate Florida Atlantic University (FAU) and Mainstreet Research poll found that only a 47 percent plurality of voters back the cannabis initiative<\/a>, compared to 35 percent opposed and 18 percent undecided.<\/p>\n

Economic analysts from the Florida legislature and DeSantis\u2019s office, estimate that the marijuana legalization initiative would\u00a0generate between $195.6 million and $431.3 million<\/a>\u00a0in 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

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

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is tracking more than 1,400 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
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\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/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

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)\u00a0released 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

As noted by the outlet\u00a0Florida Politics<\/a>, which first reported DeSantis\u2019s comments on Wednesday, the governor himself received a $25,000 campaign donation from Trulieve back in November 2020.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s CEO said recently that, contrary to the governor\u2019s claims, legalization\u00a0could 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