Florida governor lands more hemp money to fight adult-use legalization, report says

Companies that sell products containing intoxicating THC – but under the guise that it’s federally legal hemp – are bankrolling Florida’s governor’s quest to defeat an adult-use marijuana legalization measure.

That’s according to a Miami Herald/Tampa Bay Times analysis of campaign contributions to a political action committee controlled by Gov. Ron DeSantis that found at least eight examples of Florida Republicans accepting money from businesses selling intoxicating products.

Florida voters on Tuesday will decide on state constitutional Amendment 3, which would legalize adult-use cannabis sales in the state, beginning at existing medical marijuana treatment centers.

Trulieve’s growing contributions

The biggest presence in Florida’s existing $2 billion medical market is Tallahassee-based marijuana multistate operator Trulieve Cannabis Corp.

Trulieve is also far and above the biggest funder of the Amendment 3 campaign, which is the most expensive legalization effort in U.S. history.

Through Halloween – a day on which the company reported spending $1.5 million on the Smart & Safe Florida campaign – Trulieve had contributed a total of $144.5 million, state records show.

In October alone, the company spent $51.5 million, records show. That was more than was spent on the entire California legalization effort in 2016.

Hemp’s financial rebuttal

Up against that is a relatively modest $500,000 from some of Florida’s estimated 9,500 retailers of hemp-based products, according to the Herald/Times investigation.

These include $125,000 from Lifted Liquids, the parent company of Wisconsin-based Urb.

Urb’s CEO claimed the company’s donation was “unrelated” to Amendment 3, according to the newspaper collaboration.

According to an MJBizDaily report in July, such companies stood to benefit when DeSantis vetoed a state bill that would have restricted the amount of THC allowed in hemp products sold in the state.

As part of their probe, the newspapers purchased 41 of the companies’ products, offered for sale in person and online, and found they contained banned pesticides as well as more than the 0.3% THC allowed under federal law.

DeSantis – who created the Florida Freedom Fund to combat the adult-use and abortion amendments on the state’s ballot – and the Republican Party of Florida, which are opposing Amendment 3, declined to comment to the newspapers.

Amendment 3, which has been endorsed by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, needs 60% of Florida voters’ approval to pass.