(Photo by Carol Yepes/Getty Images)
Fueled by efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis that included using taxpayer funds to combat the proposal, Florida voters have rejected Amendment 3, the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize recreational cannabis use for adults 21 and older, joining 24 other states.
North and South Dakota also had referendums on adult use of cannabis that they were voting on Tuesday.
The final vote in Florida was 56%-44%, falling short of the 60% requirement for passage.
The Vote No on 3 Campaign was exultant after the amendment came up short, releasing the following statement today from its Director of Advocacy Dr. Jessica Spencer .
“Even after spending over $150 million – the most in any drug legalization effort in American history – the people of Florida saw through Amendment 3’s web of deception and defeated this corporate power grab,” Spencer said.
“We are grateful for the unbending support of the Governor and First Lady of Florida, whose conviction, courage, and fearlessness – even in the face of Big Weed’s unprecedented $150-million cash bomb – was unwavering.”
Smart & Safe Florida, the advocacy group pushing to get the measure passed, spent more than $120 million on their efforts — most of that from Trulieve, the state’s biggest medical marijuana company.
That largesse was ultimately not enough, as the amendment needed to get 60% support from the public, something that only three other states that legalized recreational cannabis — Maryland, New Jersey, and Arizona — have ever achieved.
The group released a statement following the defeat of the measure.
“Tonight, a strong majority of Floridians voted in support of legalizing recreational marijuana for adults. While the results of Amendment 3 did not clear the 60 percent threshold, we are eager to work with the governor and legislative leaders who agree with us on decriminalizing recreational marijuana for adults, addressing public consumption, continuing our focus on child safety, and expanding access to safe marijuana through home grow.
“We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude to the majority of Florida voters who voted yes on Amendment 3 and everyone who stood with us in this effort. We remain committed to advocating for a smarter and safer Florida and will continue to work towards solutions that benefit all Floridians.”
‘Weaponized’
There was also the unprecedented level of government funding that advocates of the measure claim DeSantis “weaponized” against the measure. Smart & Safe said late last month that a combination of 13,000 television ads, more than 5,000 radio ad hits, along with digital and billboard ad hits around the state totaled more than $50 million in taxpayer funds, by its estimate.
DeSantis recruited several state agency heads — including leaders of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the Department of Children and Families, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and the Department of Health — to join the effort against the weed proposal and unleashed state resources against the measure.
The fact that one company bankrolled much of the campaign to get the measure passed was a key talking point zeroed in on by DeSantis. He portrayed it as a product of a “Big Weed” company more concerned with benefitting its own bottom line than in helping Floridians — all in hopes of keeping the margin of support for the measure below 60%.
“As a CEO of a publicly traded company, you have a fiduciary duty to maximize value of your shareholders,” DeSantis said last month at a press conference in Cape Coral, referring to Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers.
“So, when this amendment is being written, this amendment is being written to benefit this one big weed company. It is not meant to benefit you. It is not meant to benefit the state. If they did anything other than benefitting themselves, it would be a violation of their business responsibilities. They are not spending $100 million because they want to benefit you or they want to benefit the state of Florida.”
There is no question that Trulieve would benefit if Amendment 3 passes, but it is by no means the only company in the state that could see revenues grow — 25 companies are licensed to sell medical marijuana in the state, with another 22 licenses pending approval from the governor’s office.
Reeking of marijuana
DeSantis expressed outrage that the amendment does not allow individuals to grow their own cannabis, known as “home grow” or home cultivation. That is against the law in Florida, and courts have struck down attempts to legalize such procedures.
The governor began his public campaign by decrying how the state would reek of marijuana if the measure was approved.
That prompted Sarasota County Republican state Sen. (and former Republican Party of Florida chair) Joe Gruters to announce that he would file a proposal if the amendment passed to ban smoking in all public places in Florida. Critics argued he wouldn’t be able to do that — that the amendment couldn’t be changed by the Legislature.
That stance amused former Republican state Sen. Jeff Brandes, who said last week, “We’re at the point right now where people are just saying crazy things in order to try to sway a handful of votes. It isn’t going to work.”
Greuters and Brandes both supported the proposal.
Hemp industry
An interesting inside-Tallahassee aspect of the campaign was how DeSantis was able to get representatives from the state’s thriving hemp industry to financially contribute to Amendment 3’s passage.
Grateful for the governor’s veto of a controversial bill in June that many in the industry treated as an existential threat to their business models, which is centered around already-legal products, a group of hemp entrepreneurs sent at least $1.7 million to the Republican Party of Florida between June 25 and June 28, campaign records show.
The measure also got a boost when GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump endorsed the measure in early September.