{"id":75985,"date":"2024-06-05T04:09:15","date_gmt":"2024-06-05T12:09:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/06\/05\/florida-marijuana-legalization-campaign-releases-new-statewide-ad-warning-of-dangers-of-unregulated-cannabis\/"},"modified":"2024-06-05T12:46:20","modified_gmt":"2024-06-05T20:46:20","slug":"florida-marijuana-legalization-campaign-releases-new-statewide-ad-warning-of-dangers-of-unregulated-cannabis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/06\/05\/florida-marijuana-legalization-campaign-releases-new-statewide-ad-warning-of-dangers-of-unregulated-cannabis\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Marijuana Legalization Campaign Releases New Statewide Ad Warning Of Dangers Of Unregulated Cannabis"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The campaign behind a marijuana legalization ballot measure in Florida released a new ad in support of Amendment 3 this week, arguing that cannabis currently available on the state\u2019s illicit market is dangerously unregulated.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost Florida marijuana is illegal, produced by criminals and can be laced with dangerous drugs like fentanyl,\u201d a woman says, described in a campaign press release as \u201ca Florida mom and voter who believes adult Floridians deserve the individual freedom to consume safe, tested adult-use marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n

Titled \u201cFact,\u201d the 30-second ad is set to air statewide \u201cacross broadcast, cable, streaming, radio and digital platforms,\u201d according to the campaign, Smart & Safe Florida.<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of Floridians use marijuana. It\u2019s a fact,\u201d it says. \u201cMost Americans have access to legal marijuana that is regulated and tested for safety, but not Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amendment 3, which will appear before voters in November, \u201cgives adults access to legal, safe marijuana and the freedom to make their own choices while generating billions for schools and police,\u201d it adds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Last month, the campaign released an earlier set of four ads supporting the marijuana legalization ballot measure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kim Rivers, the chief executive of the multi-state cannabis operator Trulieve, the main financial backer of the campaign, last month challenged surveys that have been released recent weeks that showed flagging support for the measure, reiterating\u00a0that\u00a0internal polls show initiative passing with a comfortable margin<\/a>\u00a0despite the steep 60 percent threshold required to approve a constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n

And notwithstanding Gov. Ron DeSantis\u2019s (R) push against the proposal<\/a>, Rivers said she\u2019s confident DeSantis will respect the will of the people<\/a>\u00a0and implement the legalization initiative if voters approve it at the ballot.<\/p>\n

A new outlet in the state recently reported that DeSantis is planning to veto a legislative bill that would ban consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products such as delta-8 THC, reportedly because he\u2019s hoping the hemp industry will help finance a campaign opposing Amendment 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Late last month, Florida trial attorney and Democratic fundraiser John Morgan, who spent more than $8 million to help pass medical marijuana legalization in 2016, threw his support behind the adult-use proposal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not my amendment,\u201d he said at a press conference held at the Morgan and Morgan law offices in downtown Orlando. \u201cI have given my advice, I\u2019ve given my help, but I have not given my money for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smart & Safe Florida separately announced in March that it was\u00a0working to form a coalition of veterans<\/a>\u00a0to build voter support for the reform, and the campaign\u00a0has since formally launched that initiative<\/a>.<\/p>\n

DeSantis also 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

While the campaign and companies backing the measure remain optimistic about its prospects this November, recent surveys continue to raise questions about that possibility.<\/p>\n

For example, a survey that was done for the Florida Chamber of Commerce by Cherry Communications found that\u00a058 percent of Florida likely voters back the legalization measure<\/a>, compared to 37 percent who oppose it and five percent who are undecided. As Rivers pointed out recently, however, the chamber has actively opposed the initiative.<\/p>\n

While the campaign hasn\u2019t shared its internal polling, it is the case that prior surveys have shown the initiative in a more comfortable position than the two most recent public polls did. A University of North Florida (UNF) poll released last November found\u00a0nearly 70 percent of voters are in favor of the reform, for example<\/a>.<\/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

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. Recently, 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

The company\u2019s CEO also said recently that, contrary to the governor\u2019s claims, legalization\u00a0could actually \u201cimprove quality of life\u201d for residents<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2014
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Here\u2019s what the Smart & Safe Florida marijuana legalization initiative would accomplish:<\/strong><\/p>\n