Multistate medical cannabis operator Trulieve has contributed another $5 million to the campaign seeking to legalize adult use cannabis in Florida, according to finance reports outlined by NPR-affiliate WUSF. The July 15 contribution brings the company’s total to $60.39 million.
In all, the Smart & Safe Florida political committee had raised $66.475 million in cash and $129,000 in in-kind contributions as of July 19, according to state Division of Elections Data, and has spent $53.963 million so far on the campaign.
Trulieve contributed $500,000 to the campaign in October 2023 and another $15 million the following December.
The cannabis legalization reforms are opposed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis who in June launched the Florida Freedom Fund to combat both the adult-use cannabis campaign and the ballot initiative on abortion access. In the fund’s first five weeks, it raised just $10,000; however, earlier this month a cohort of hemp businesses in the state donated $5 million to the Republican Party of Florida after the governor vetoed a bill to regulate hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids.
According to a Marijuana Moment report, as of July 15, the Florida Freedom Fund has about $121,000 on hand, the majority of which came from POB Ventures, which has links to a medical cannabis worker training organization and a cadre of hemp businesses.
