Smart & Safe Florida, a group backing a ballot measure (Amendment 3) to legalize recreational marijuana recently secured nearly $314,000 in fresh contributions, as revealed by their latest campaign finance disclosure.
This financial update, pertaining to the second week of July, highlights that most of the new contributions to Smart & Safe Florida, advocates for Amendment 3, stemmed from two enterprises within the cannabis sector.
Verano Holdings from Chicago contributed $250,000. Meanwhile, the Oregon-based Dutchie added $50,000. Notably, Verano operates 77 medical marijuana dispensaries across Florida and has recently expanded into Miami-Dade and Pasco counties.
In late March, Verano invested $2.25 million into Smart & Safe Florida, and their corporate site labels them as fervent backers of the Amendment 3 campaign.
Thus far, Smart & Safe Florida has amassed approximately $61.5 million to champion the initiative. Their recent financial report reveals that they have $12.6 million unspent in their coffers, with significant funding coming from Trulieve, a major player in the state’s medical marijuana industry.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is a critic of Amendment 3 and voiced his opposition recently in Milwaukee, arguing that marijuana legalization has been unsuccessful in Colorado. He also criticized Trulieve for their financial support of the amendment’s inclusion on the ballot.
Conversely, entities linked to the hemp industry are anticipated to fund opposition against the amendment. A political group aligned with the Governor received $100,000 from POB Ventures, a company engaged in cannabis education and various hemp ventures.
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