Florida steps up ‘criminal investigation’ of marijuana legalization campaign
After multiple arrests, Florida officials are expanding a criminal investigation into a multi-industry marijuana campaign funded by seniors — just days before the November voting eligibility deadline.
A criminal investigation by the Smart & Safe Florida campaign, sponsored by Trulieve Cannabis Corp., based in Tallahassee, shows that the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a staunch opponent of cannabis reform, is “using whatever means necessary to silence the voices of over a million Florida voters,” a campaign spokesman said. MJBizDaily.
Florida is the only major medical cannabis market in the US and represents a huge opportunity for the legal industry.
But the DeSantis administration opposes the legalization of marijuana for adult use every step of the way.
Marijuana MSO Trulieve is spending $200 million on legalizing marijuana
Trulieve spent more than $150 million on a 2024 legislative effort that came up short despite the endorsement of then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
This cycle, the DeSantis administration used both the lawsuits and what Politico calls “election police,” created under a law passed last year, to block a second attempt.
Campaign finance records show Trulieve has contributed $52.5 million to an effort to collect at least 880,000 signatures from registered voters by the Feb. 1 deadline.
Florida uses ‘election police’ to stop legalization of marijuana
On January 20, Attorney General James Uthmeier, a former DeSantis executive, said about a dozen suspects had been arrested on fraud charges, with more to come.
On Thursday, days before the Feb. 1, Uthmeier expanded the fraud investigation to all Florida counties, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
In a social media post, Uthmeier said “Smart & Safe Florida application fraud affects nearly all of Florida’s 67 counties, and we have expanded our investigation statewide.”
As of Friday, Smart & Safe had collected 760,000 signatures, 120,000 short of the required number, according to the government’s election website.
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Florida officials will ‘stop at nothing’ to stop cannabis reform
In a statement to MJBizDailythe spokesperson for Smart & Safe said that the campaign follows the law.
“Pursuant to Florida law, each time we discovered any violations of state-mandated complaints collectors, we reported our suspicions to the Secretary of State,” the statement read.
“In short, it seems that the Attorney General is facing the challenge of clearly following the law.
“From the months-long delay in sending the ballot language to court to the dismissal of the legal petitions, it appears that nothing will stop the administration from preventing these voters from expressing their opinion.”
