Because of this, Florida’s new adult-use initiative is getting mixed reviews
Cannabis giant Trulieve has pledged $5 million for a new amendment that would legalize cannabis for all adults. But what about home growing and social justice?
On August 19, a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing adult-use cannabis in Florida was filed with the state elections office. The proposal still has a long way to go before reaching the national vote (in 2024), but it’s already causing some controversy. Even among pro-legalization advocates, not everyone is a fan of how the new law would legalize the plant.
Smart & Safe Florida’s policy committee says the proposal would allow anyone over the age of 21 to “possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana-related accessories for personal, non-medical use.” The only problem: there are no regulations that allow self-cultivation or support social justice applicants in the expensive state approval process.
The Florida Constitution has a strict one-subject rule regarding civic action. This prevents the new change from addressing issues such as record deletion, social justice, or self-cultivation.
The authors of the proposal have said these issues will be addressed later. However, with the new law not due for a vote for another two years, many patients, activists and local operators want more security before fully committing to it.
Here’s why the bill is rejected
With more than 740,000 people registered as medical marijuana patients in Florida, the Sunshine State is currently home to America’s largest purely medical population and its third largest legal market overall. But this vast pool of patients is stuck shopping in one of the most limited supply chains in the country.
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The proposed bill would end Florida’s requirement for cannabis companies to be vertically integrated, with one company controlling the entire process from seed to sale. But it still leaves most local business owners and incumbent operators blocked by high barriers to entry. And most adult users would then be faced with the same limited options that medical buyers have complained about for years.
That’s why many residents were quick to tweet their lack of support for the new change last week.
“I will not be signing this ballot and probably will not be shopping with @Trulieve again. Big disappointment. #TruThieves,” one homegrow advocate wrote on Twitter. Many users on the Reddit page / Florida also passionately opposed the bill.
Trulieve gives his side of the story
In response to strong opposition, Trulieve insisted on supporting home-growing. “(Homegrow) couldn’t be put in this version if we want to get past the Supreme Court,” the Trulieve account tweeted last week.
Leafly spoke to Trulieve spokesman Steve Vancore for more insight. “[The] The Smart & Safe campaign has had to take a very narrow stance and is only legally able to address one issue at a time,” Vancore said last week.
“Because these ballots are extremely expensive, on the advice of a lawyer, they chose the option that would benefit most Floridians and was a logical and legal first step. We intend to support a homegrown change in Florida in the near future.”
Speaker from Trulieve
Consequences of Florida’s severely limited licenses
Most Florida residents would love to get legalization over with. But troubled markets like Colorado and California have shown that being first isn’t always best.
Florida’s high barriers have made licenses as valuable as lottery tickets. Many are betting on tens of millions, with MedMen famously paying over $50 million for a license in 2018. For breeders, the Florida application fee alone is $60,830.
All applicants for a Florida license must demonstrate that they have operated a business in the state for five years before applying. And if that doesn’t eliminate most, you also need access to $5 million in assets or insurance coverage. This is only to be considered for a license.
All is not sunny in Florida’s cannabis industry
Florida’s MSO-friendly laws have made it one of the most troubled markets in the country. In 2019, a Florida court agreed that the vertical-only model used in legalizing Florida was unconstitutional. And patients agree that the quality they find at most pharmacies doesn’t stand up to illegal or out-of-state options.
“I got really bad weed,” a patient walking past Moses told Leafly. “Hopefully the quality will improve with Cookies, Jungle Boys and people like that,” he added. For now, Moses says he’s stuck with buds that he’d give a “C Minus” grade overall.
The situation is exacerbated by an ongoing ban on home cultivation. In most other medical states, legalizing home-growing of a limited number of plants protects patients from high prices and inadequate supplies.
Recent data shows that most home growers (73%) harvest 1-3 times a year. About 63% of their harvests are less than 2 pounds and the rest are less than 1 pound. It costs most growers less than $500 and five hours a week to meet their own consumption. While some see these homegrown grams as lost tax revenue, they could actually be a smart option that benefits both patients and the long-term market.
More from Florida’s weed scene
Another important problem left unsolved by the bill is this: Florida’s blatant neglect of black farmers. In the Pigford settlements, thousands of farmers won Florida’s federal class action lawsuits against the state after decades of agricultural discrimination. These farmers were granted the right to compete with each other for just one license back in 2016.
Six years later, they’re still waiting for the state to deliver the promised individual license. This license is expected to be worth approximately $50 million.
Who is behind this change?
Country music legends, The Bellamy Brothers and Multi-State Operator (MSO) Trulieve, the state’s largest medical marijuana operator, support the proposed change.
Both parties expect other MSOs to support the change and are optimistic it will pass the Florida Supreme Court. Then it must qualify to vote and gain support from Florida voters.
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Trulieve provided $5 million in seed funding to support the campaign, while David Bellamy serves as The Smart & Safe Florida Political Committee Chair.
“With this initiative, the authors have looked closely at and considered the Supreme Court’s rulings on the previous effort,” Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers said in an interview with The News Service of Florida. “We believe this is a very appropriate and narrowly focused amendment that appropriately relates to the legislature,” Rivers added.
Here’s how the new law would affect Floridas
You can read the full four-page proposal here. If adopted, the new measure would:
- Allow users to purchase and possess up to one ounce of marijuana, with as little as five grams of that being marijuana concentrates.
- Grant medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTC) and other state licensed Florida facilities the right to purchase, cultivate, process, manufacture, sell and distribute marijuana goods and supplies.
- Void the state’s current mandate that MMTCs are “vertically integrated” and manage every element of their operations, from growing to selling their produce.
For the changes to become law, supporters must collect around 900,000 signatures from registered voters for the measure to be included in the 2024 ballot.
If voters approve the new plan, state politicians will have the final say on exactly how Florida’s legal cannabis market will take shape.
Lyneisha Watson and Calvin Stovall
Lyneisha Watson is a Florida-based journalist who has covered cannabis for HighTimes, Miss Grass, The Emerald Magazine and Farmer and the Felon. Her writing has also appeared in Columbia Journalism Review, Blavity and Black Girl in Om.
Calvin Stovall is Leafly’s East Coast Editor.
Check out the articles by Lyneisha Watson and Calvin Stovall
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