Trulieve CEO calls rejection of Amendment 3 'encouraging' for legislature to take up the issue

Amendment to legalize recreational marijuana fails

Carla Bayron reports

LAKELAND, Fla. - Supporters of Florida's Amendment 3 are reacting to its rejection, including the cannabis company that led the effort to place the measure on the November ballot.

The amendment would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, but only 56% of Floridians voted "yes" to legalize it, which fell short of the 60% super-majority. After the polls closed Tuesday night, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd told FOX 13 he believes Floridians made a wise choice by rejecting recreational marijuana.

"I think this amendment failed for a lot of reasons, but the primary reason was the recreational marijuana people wanted to make billions of dollars while the community suffered and the quality of life went down in Florida," said Judd.

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Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the advocacy organization, National Organization For the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said Governor Ron DeSantis ran a deceptive but well-funded opposition campaign.

"He said it allows the public use of marijuana everywhere. That's a lie. He said this would establish a monopoly for one company. That's a lie," said Armentano.

Armantano would like to see advocates pressure state lawmakers to respond to an issue that he said they've ignored consistently.

"Some 1.2 more Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 3 than voted against it, so I think looking forward, the legislature should recognize that most Floridians want legal marijuana, and they should work in 2025 to deliver on what the majority of Florida voters want," said Armentano.

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The CEO of Trulieve, the cannabis company that contributed more than $100 million to the effort, said she does agree on some areas with the opposition, such as no smoking in public and child access restrictions, which set up the potential for a productive conversation down the line.

"The legislature aboslutely can do this," said Trulieve CEO Kim Rivers. "I think there are so many wonderful leaders in the House and Senate who are genuine in their efforts to reflect the will of Floridians and here you have Floridians who the majority of which have spoken on this issue. "

And despite this loss, Rivers said there is a future for recreational marijuana in Florida and nationwide. Rivers hopes they won't have to run another ballot initiative, because this was enough to bring this issue to the forefront and for legislators to take it up in the next session.

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