Medical marijuana company Trulieve was a big financial backer for the political committee that proposed the adult-use marijuana amendment for the November ballot, Smart & Safe Florida.
Trulieve CEO, Kim Rivers, spoke with NBC6 on Wednesday about the reasons behind the push to make recreational pot legal in Florida.
The company was the first to be fully licensed in Florida to be able to sell medical marijuana. It’s now grown to be a key player in the fight to legalize recreational marijuana. If approved, it would mean big business for them, but Rivers said Floridians would also benefit.
“We’re very excited. It’s a long time coming,” Rivers said.
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Rivers feels confident the amendment that aims to legalize adult-use marijuana will pass in Florida come November.
“The polling on this issue has been really strong, and I think importantly, it’s not just the numbers. It’s also the underlying demographics. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue alone,” she said.
If Amendment 3 were to pass, medical marijuana dispensaries like the ones run by Trulieve could be the first to sell marijuana to anyone 21 and older.
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“We know we have a fentanyl problem; it’s being laced regularly with marijuana that’s bought in the illicit market," Rivers said. "This provides a safe alternative for adults 21 and up who do want to consume, and they should be able to do that in a safe environment."
And that’s not all, Rivers said legalizing recreational marijuana means the state can tax it.
“It can generate hundreds of millions of dollars for the Florida economy and, again, job creation,” said Rivers.
But not everyone is on board, including Gov. Ron DeSantis who spoke out against the amendment during a recent visit to southwest Florida.
“I’ve gone to some of these cities that have this everywhere, it smells, there’s all these other things,” he said.
Desantis argues the pot smell could negatively affect businesses.
"If that were to come to pass, people in the downtown areas in different communities this is gonna be part of your community," he said.
However, Trulieve believes the positives of legalizing recreational marijuana in Florida are far greater.
“This isn’t like an unfettered, wild, wild west type of scenario we’re talking about here,” she said. “We’re talking about creating a safe and regulated market."
Rivers emphasizes that if Amendment 3 were to pass, there would be some restrictions.
“I do expect for the legislature to create a regulatory system that is unique to Florida, we have wonderful tourism here," Rivers said. "I’m a mom of two middle schoolers so certainly I would expect there to not be allowed public smoking as an example or public vaping and for us to have some restrictions.”
