{"id":76078,"date":"2024-06-07T15:53:34","date_gmt":"2024-06-07T23:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/desantis-vetos-hemp-ban-bill-amid-anti-marijuana-legalization-push-fueling-speculation-over-double-standards-in-opposition-campaign\/"},"modified":"2024-06-08T00:45:18","modified_gmt":"2024-06-08T08:45:18","slug":"desantis-vetos-hemp-ban-bill-amid-anti-marijuana-legalization-push-fueling-speculation-over-double-standards-in-opposition-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2024\/06\/07\/desantis-vetos-hemp-ban-bill-amid-anti-marijuana-legalization-push-fueling-speculation-over-double-standards-in-opposition-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"DeSantis Vetos Hemp Ban Bill Amid Anti-Marijuana Legalization Push, Fueling Speculation Over Double Standards In Opposition Campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

As the governor of Florida campaigns against a marijuana legalization ballot initiative, he has, in a seemingly contradictory move, vetoed a bill to ban the sale of intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids in his state.<\/p>\n

This comes amid recent reporting that Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) planned to block the hemp prohibition legislation in hopes that the industry would return the favor<\/a> by financially assisting in his effort to defeat the marijuana measure that voters will decide on this November.<\/p>\n

DeSantis didn\u2019t specifically mention the marijuana legalization initiative in his veto message, but he said generally that, \u201cwhile Senate Bill 1698\u2019s goals are commendable, the bill would, in fact, impose debilitating regulatory burdens on small businesses, and almost certainly fail to achieve its purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSenate Bill 1698 would introduce dramatic disruption and harm to many small retail and\u00a0 manufacturing businesses in Florida\u2014businesses that have emerged due to recent legislation paving the way for the commercial use of hemp,\u201d the governor wrote said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI encourage the Florida Legislature to reconsider this topic during the next Legislative Session and engage with all relevant stakeholders to create a comprehensive regulatory framework for the manufacture and sale of hemp and hemp-derived products. Sensible, non-arbitrary regulation will provide businesses and consumers alike with much-needed stability safeguarding public health and safety, allowing legitimate industry to flourish, and removing bad actors from the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

While DeSantis vetoed the measure, he outlined a series of considerations for legislators to consider for future work on the issue.<\/p>\n

For example, he said the legislature \u201cshould set standards for cultivation, processing, and handling of hemp products to ensure the purity, potency, and safety of hemp and hemp-derived products.\u201d The governor said the bill at hand \u201cmisses the mark\u201d to that end.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Legislature should develop guidelines for accurate labeling, including cannabinoid content, sourcing information, health claims, and. dosing instructions,\u201d his veto message says. \u201cPackaging should\u2014by default\u2014be child-resistant, and any and all advertising that makes these products attractive to minors should be prohibited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Additionally, DeSantis said lawmakers \u201cshould ensure that hemp-derived cannabinoids are sold behind the counter and that hemp retail shops operate outside sufficient proximities from schools, religious institutions, and other areas where children and families regularly gather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese shops should not present themselves as medical offices, and the Legislature should consider measures to prevent the ubiquity and concentration of these retail locations in communities across the State,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In effect, DeSantis is making the argument for enhanced regulation of the intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoid market at the same time that he is urging voters to reject a ballot measure to enact similar regulations for recreational marijuana. But he\u2019s allowing the hemp industry to persist in the interim without those desired regulations.<\/p>\n

This veto message was released one day after a Fox News poll found that two in three Florida voters, including a majority of Republicans, support the legalization initiative\u2014making it more popular among voters than is the governor who is actively opposing it<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The survey found that 66 percent of voters back the marijuana initiative\u2014more than enough to meet the 60 percent threshold to pass the constitutional amendment under state laws.<\/p>\n

By contrast, 52 percent of voters said that they either strongly or somewhat approve of the job DeSantis is doing as governor\u2014a 14 percent point gap in support compared to marijuana legalization.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a datapoint that calls into question the political wisdom of DeSantis\u2019s crusade against the cannabis measure.<\/p>\n

The governor has argued\u00a0that\u00a0the state shouldn\u2019t go beyond the existing medical cannabis program<\/a> and that broader reform would negatively impact the quality of life for Floridians.<\/p>\n

The Florida Republican Party also\u00a0formally came out against Amendment 3 last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That said, the state party\u2019s president and interim executive director, Evan Power and Bill Helmich, are both top lobbyists for the Florida Healthy Alternatives Association that represents hemp stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Kim Rivers, the chief executive of the multi-state cannabis operator Trulieve that\u2019s financially supporting the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, said recently that\u00a0she remains confident DeSantis will respect the will of the people<\/a>\u00a0and implement the legalization initiative if voters approve it at the ballot.<\/p>\n

She also challenged several other surveys that were released in the weeks since the Florida Supreme Court cleared the initiative for ballot placement. She reiterated that\u00a0internal polls show the measure passing with a comfortable margin<\/a>.<\/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

The campaign additionally released an ad this week arguing\u00a0that\u00a0cannabis currently available on the state\u2019s illicit market is dangerously unregulated<\/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

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

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