Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers demonstrates how cannabis products are packaged at a Truileve dispensary in Tampa on Oct. 22, 2024. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix)
A new television ad by the campaign to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment to legalize adult use of recreational cannabis in Florida has sent the business executive behind the initiative to some of the state’s biggest media markets to “set the record straight,” specifically when it comes to the product getting in the hands of minors.
Kim Rivers is CEO of Trulieve, the biggest marijuana company in Florida and one of the largest in the nation. The company has invested more than $80 million to get Amendment 3 passed in Florida this fall, and recent polls show the measure could overcome the 60% threshold required to make Florida the 25th state to legalize recreational cannabis.
Rivers made stops in Tampa, Orlando, and Jacksonville on Tuesday to describe how medical marijuana works and how the distribution system mitigates any threat of minors getting access to high-level THC products.
“I think it’s really important for folks to understand that legalization is actually one of the only ways to protect kids,” Rivers told the Phoenix before addressing other reporters at a Trulieve dispensary in Tampa on Tuesday afternoon.
“All of our products are sold in opaque containers that are child resistant. They have to have very specific information on the label. They cannot be attractive to children in any way shape or form. There cannot be any colors, there cannot be any patterns, there cannot be any shapes, to make sure.
“And that goes for advertising as well. And all of our products have to be approved specifically by the Department of Health, and so we fully expect those rules and regulations will continue into the adult use program. And so, we are not talking about products under Amendment 3 that resemble candy or that are brightly colored or are going to be advertised or marketed towards children. It’s actually the opposite.”
Anti-pot ad
An ad that aired on heavy rotation over the weekend by the No on 3 campaign features Dr. Roneet Lev, an emergency medicine specialist in San Diego, speaking about how since California legalized recreational cannabis use for adults, she’s seen kids rushed to the hospital with marijuana poisoning because they mistakenly ate the product.
“Weed is packaged like candy,” Lev says in the 30-second ad. “Kids and babies are eating it. Their eyes roll back in their head, they seize up, and some end up on a ventilator.”
At the Tampa location, Rivers did a live demonstration showing exactly how products purchased at Trulieve are packaged.
“This is what a medical program looks like, so as you can see, there is not any bright colors, no cartoons,” said Rivers.
“There is a requirement under Florida law to be white and opaque [with] no colors at all in the package. We can simply say what the product is, and of course we can have where it came from. On the product label, it specifically has a batch number. That batch numbers traces all the way to when that plant that this product was actually derived from was put into the ground. And we know exactly what happened to the product at every step along the way.”
In addition to the No on 3’s campaign ads arguing legal cannabis could endanger adolescents, the Florida Department of Health on Tuesday released “guidance for non-medical marijuana use in adolescents,” which lists safety concerns for individuals under 18 years, including to cognitive development, mental health, brain development, and from accidental exposure.
DeSantis opposition
Gov. Ron DeSantis is a major critic of the proposal and created a political committee earlier this year to collect funds to defeat the proposed amendment. He has been accused of using state agencies to oppose amendments 3 and 4 through different PSAs in the past couple of weeks.
One FDOT PSA that asserted, “DUI crashes increase in states with legalized marijuana,” became the subject of a lawsuit filed by South Florida Democratic state Sen. Jason Pizzo, who said it was an illegal use of state money aimed at defeating the measure. A state judge ruled against the suit last week, the Florida Politico Playbook reported.
“I think at the end of the day Florida voters are going to decide, and we think that, again, this isn’t a red issue, it’s not a blue issue, it’s really a human one. And I’m very excited about the fact that we’ve been able to educate folks on the realities of what medical marijuana and what a transition to adult use marijuana can do for the state of Florida,” Rivers said.
“So, for us the numbers are looking great, and the fact is that we have over 50% support among Republicans, among Democrats, and among independents. And so we’re just looking forward to the vote.”
Home grow
A surprising talking point that some members of the DeSantis administration have promulgated is that Amendment 3 does not allow home cultivation, or “home grow,” which would allow individuals to grow their own cannabis. Florida courts years ago blocked an attempt (by Tampa adult entrepreneur Joe Redner) to allow individuals to grow their own product.
“So, here’s the thing: Amendment 3 would create a monopoly on recreational,” DeSantis aide Christina Pushaw wrote on X in August. “It also doesn’t allow home growing. Why is it that other states that have passed recreational marijuana also allow individuals to home grow, but Florida’s Amendment 3 specifically does NOT? It’s not about ‘freedom,’ it’s corporate greed.”
Rivers responded then and again on Tuesday that she’s “excited” that home grow is something that the Legislature could attempt to implement in state law when the Legislature convenes next spring.
“Listen, Trulieve has been a supporter of home grow since the beginning,” she said. “We carried petitions in our stores to support home grow and we would have loved to include home grow in this amendment.
“Unfortunately, because of single-subject [rule for citizen initiatives] we weren’t able to do that, and the court actually struck down the last attempt because it had both decriminalization and legalization along with home grow in it. But listen, we think it’s a great day. The fact that we’ve got it seems like bipartisan support on that issue going into session.”
The most recent polls on Amendment 3 show the measure looking like it could surpass the 60% vote required to become law next year. A University of North Florida survey released over the weekend shows the measure getting 66% support, with 30% opposing and 4% saying that they did not know.
However, a Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy survey released earlier this month showed the measure getting 58% support, with 35% opposed.
Rivers’ tour continues on Wednesday with stops in Miami and West Palm Beach before concluding Thursday in Tallahassee.