The Frenzy in Florida’s Cannabis Market

A Florida Series written by Isabella DeChard for Beard Bros. Pharms

While the state may seem fragmented with plenty of political and social conflict, there’s one thing that the Sunshine State can agree on – legalizing adult-use cannabis. The latest research poll shows that 67% of residents agree with Florida’s proposed amendment for adult use, with nearly 900,000 medical cannabis patients currently registered in the state.

These metrics have been pushed to higher limits each month – not only raising the state’s medical market value but also sparking a great debate about the industry’s rapid growth and the topic of adult-use legalization. 

But in a booming medical market, there are only a select few that have a powerful upper hand when it comes to executing Florida’s recreational legalization movement.

Breaking Down Florida’s Adult Use Cannabis Legalization Initiative

As each month inches closer to a highly anticipated election season, the question of Florida’s recreational legalization grows louder and stronger. 

Florida’s proposed Adult Personal Use of Marijuana Initiative would grant recreational and adult-use marijuana to those 21 years and older in the state. Adults would be allowed to legally possess up to three ounces of cannabis and up to five grams of concentrate. Florida’s legalization initiative would also prioritize existing licensed marijuana treatment centers to sell products for adult and personal use, before opening the licensure to other businesses for cultivation or retail.

While the details and proposed principles of this initiative have been making Florida news, it’s the support and behind-the-scenes contributions that have caused a great uproar. 

Smart and Safe Florida is a campaign in full support of this initiative, working over the past year to collect enough signatures for this proposal to appear on the 2024 state ballot. This campaign states that if adult-use cannabis is legalized, Florida users will have accountable, transparent regulations in place for the safe cultivation, selling, and consumption of products. It’s a reassuring message most legalized states hear when rolling out new cannabis policies. 

Yet with no indication of a social equity program or reform policy supported in this proposed amendment, many medical patients and residents are questioning who exactly this new initiative would benefit.

Smart and Safe Florida’s Successful Campaign

Trulieve, one of the largest multi-state medical marijuana operators in the state, has donated over $39.55 million in Smart and Safe Florida campaign contributions. Since Florida approved medical marijuana in 2016, the company has monopolized the legal market with over 130 medical dispensary locations today. 

Last year, with the help of Trulieve’s financial support, the proposed initiative exceeded the signature requirement, making the next decision for this approval to lie in the hands of the Florida Supreme Court.

An Attorney’s Opposition

Florida Attorney Ashley Moody has pushed in opposition of the Adult Use Initiative and the Smart and Safe campaign, claiming it is misleading to voters and medical patients. The Florida Attorney’s office filed briefs to the Supreme Court arguing that the proposed initiative is misleading with actions that would unethically allow Trulieve to continue its dominance in Florida’s legal cannabis market. 

Numerous claims about the proposal have been made by Moody and her team – including that the use of the word “allows” is misleading because “the amendment would not actually allow anything; all possession of marijuana would remain unlawful under federal law.”

The attorney also called out the proposal’s language in the measure regarding existing medical marijuana operators’ involvement with the state’s recreational program. The argument claims the statement is misleading because it would only allow already licensed operators to participate unless the legislature grants an expansion of the current licensing process. 

In months of opposing pushback and responses from both the state and the Smart and Safe campaign, Florida Attorney Ashley Moody and her team stand strong on the stance that this Adult Use Initiative does not meet the court’s single-subject requirement. This constitutional fight to amend the state is just one of the many hazy initiatives and debates around legal cannabis in Florida within the last year, and The Supreme Court now has until April 1st to reach a decision.

The Death of Home Cultivation in Florida

Florida’s proposed initiative for cannabis legalization may share similarities with other states, but one core detail that has slipped through the cracks is the topic of homegrown cannabis. 

Florida’s Smart and Safe initiative would not allow for legal home cultivation, a life-changing detail that has been a crucial component for caregivers and medical patients in states like California or Colorado. 

The Home Cultivation for Medical Marijuana Initiative proposes the right for caregivers and adult patients 21 years or older to cultivate marijuana for medical use. This initiative is supported by the medical marijuana organization Wise & Free Florida, a group that advocates for patients’ freedom in growing their own medicine.

Cannabis patients, from all walks of life, consume specific cannabinoids and cannabis-derived products for relief and alleviation of medical symptoms. Florida activists and patients are concerned medical dispensaries and products will become muddled in with this new adult-use market if legalized. 

Allowing the opportunity to grow cannabis at home gives patients better access to this medicine and contributes to the credibility of growing the plant for numerous therapeutic and medicinal benefits, not for financial greed. 

While a spokesperson for Trulieve commented a “big thumbs up” in regards to this Home Grow proposal, the multi-million dollar operator has not donated any money toward this campaign. 

Late last year, the Home Grow Initiative withdrew its petition due to an insufficient number of signatures and funding. Compared to the nearly $40 million contributed by Trulieve for the Florida Smart and Safe campaign, the initiative for home cultivation raked in only $4,000. This funding does not meet the required amount necessary to get in front of the eyes of the state legislature. 

Wise & Free Florida suggests this is a consequence of recent laws passed by Florida Republican legislators that have made it harder for citizens to amend the state constitution. The cost of attorneys, accountants, organizers, and campaign managers has made it expensive for cannabis advocates to propose equitable policies or amendments at a grassroots level – it’s a complicated dance that many small cannabis companies across the country know all too well. 

This series of unfortunate events clearly shows how one highly funded and favored campaign overshadowed the significance of another. It seems unlikely now that a new proposal will take a timid approach toward the state legislature after this setback.

As for adult use legalization in Florida, even if it were to make this year’s state ballot and reach over 60% of voter approval, lobbyists and politicians have stringent rules for a recreational industry already lined up waiting to roll out.

Isabella DeChard is a writer & Certified Ganjier on a mission to advocate, educate, and elevate the power of the plant – to the cannabis community and its consumers alike. She offers creative content and writing that ignites the celebration and diversity of cannabis and everything it offers.

She is a proud digital marketer, writer, stoner, and creative artist under @btchyhippie.

You can find Isabella on her website here.