Trulieve suit alleges deceptive advertising in adult-use marijuana opposition

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Trulieve Cannabis Corp., Florida’s largest medical marijuana retail chain, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the state’s Republican Party and two TV stations for running “deceptive campaigns” aimed to mislead voters on a November ballot initiative to legalize adult-use sales.

The Tallahassee-based multistate operator also claimed Sun Broadcasting and the Fort Myers Broadcasting Co. ran a “demonstrably false” ad aimed “to fool Florida voters” to oppose Amendment 3, , according to the News Service of Florida.

If more than 60% of state voters approve the constitutional amendment in November, adults 21 and older will be able to purchase recreational cannabis at existing medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs), as dispensaries are called in Florida.

The ad in question depicts a “Big Weed” character that tells a farmer: “We wrote the amendment, so we’re the only ones that can grow it.”

The lawsuit claims the “Big Weed” character “is reasonably understood” to be Trulieve, which operates 151 MMTCs in the state, the News Service of Florida reported.

Amendment 3 continues to ban home grows, a major point of contention among consumers and some industry operators.

Trulieve is the biggest contributor to the Smart & Safe Florida campaign behind the adult-use ballot measure, having recently donated another $5 million.

Since 2022, Trulieve has dispersed nearly $93 million in cash and in-kind contributions to the legalization campaign, the most expensive cannabis ballot effort in U.S. history.

The recreational cannabis legalization campaign is also opposed by the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, and his recently formed Florida Freedom Fund.