Trulieve is betting big on Florida’s recreational marijuana ballot initiative, pumping millions of additional dollars into a legalization campaign that is entering a crucial stretch.

The state’s largest medical marijuana company has now donated more than $75 million to Smart & Safe Florida, the group backing Amendment 3, adding another $15 million in August. That makes it far and away the biggest contributor to the campaign, and Trulieve will be an enormous beneficiary if the measure passes.

Florida’s Amendment 3 has already shattered the previous fundraising record for a marijuana-related ballot initiative, set in California in the 2016 election cycle, according to an analysis by OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan organization that tracks money in politics. Groups supporting marijuana legalization in California raised a combined $36.7 million there.

Florida’s ballot initiative needs the support of at least 60% of voters in the Nov. 5 election to become law. It would allow Floridians 21 years and older to possess up to 3 ounces of marijuana for personal use.

“It is really kind of simple,” said Steve Vancore, a Trulieve spokesman. “We are committed to expanding access. We are committed to ensuring Floridians have the same freedoms that the majority of adult Americans already have.”

Of the $82.6 million raised by Smart & Safe Florida since 2022, 91% of the contributions came from Trulieve. The campaign had spent $56.9 million as of Aug. 23, campaign finance records show.

Q&A: How would legal recreational marijuana work in Florida?

Vancore attributed much of the expense to the extensive regulations on getting an item on Florida’s ballot. It took nearly 900,000 signatures from across the state to make the ballot, which requires a network of paid signature gatherers.

Heading into the fall campaign season, Smart & Safe will have nearly $25.7 million in its war chest for ads. Several polls show Amendment 3 passing the 60% threshold, although one recent survey by Florida Atlantic University has it coming up just short with 56% support.

Smart & Safe launched a new ad Tuesday that features a 30-year law enforcement veteran endorsing Amendment 3, saying it will provide Floridians with access to safe, tested products and allow officers to focus their time and resources on serious crimes.

The campaign also got a boost Saturday from a social media post by former President Donald Trump. On Truth Social, Trump suggested his support for Amendment 3, although he stopped short of saying he would vote for it. He wrote that “someone should not be a criminal in Florida” when marijuana is legal in other states.

While legalization supporters are leading the money race, opponents recently landed a big contribution of their own. The Miami billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin donated $12 million to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee against Amendment 3.

In an op-ed in the Miami Herald, Griffin called Amendment 3 “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”

The Gov. Ron DeSantis-backed Florida Freedom Fund has raised about $2.6 million to oppose Amendment 3 and another ballot initiative that would protect abortion rights.

Recreational marijuana would open up a new source of customers for Trulieve. The company has 148 dispensaries across the state, and if Amendment 3 passes, those locations could sell to anyone 21 years or older.

In an SEC filing, Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers wrote that Florida, with 22 million residents and 138 million yearly tourist visits, is poised to emerge as the “largest legal cannabis market in the world” with $6 billion in annual sales.

Cannabis plants at Trulieve’s state-of-the-art medical marijuana grow house in Jefferson County near Tallahassee, believed to be the largest medical marijuana facility of its kind in the United States. (Photo courtesy of Trulieve)

Florida has 885,373 medical marijuana patients, according to the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

A handful of companies have dominated because of how Florida structures its medical marijuana market. Businesses that sell medical pot are required to grow, process and distribute marijuana, requiring substantial investments.

Five companies — Trulieve, Müv, Ayr Cannabis Dispensary, Curaleaf and Surterra Wellness — operate over half of the state’s 673 dispensaries. Trulieve’s competitors have also donated to support Amendment 3, although in smaller amounts.

Under Amendment 3, the recreational marijuana market would function the same way unless state lawmakers decide to change it.

Vancore pushed back on criticism from opponents that Amendment 3 would give Trulieve a monopolistic stranglehold on recreational pot in Florida. The Florida Legislature has the authority to set the regulatory rules, and multiple companies already operate in the medical market, he said.

“This is absolutely, 100% about expanding access, bringing Florida in line with the majority of America — the freedom to safely possess and consume limited amounts of third-party, lab-tested marijuana and not go to jail for just having a joint,” Vancore said.

Originally Published: September 3, 2024 at 2:48 p.m.