Despite multiple setbacks and failed attempts in the past, Florida is once again pushing to allow voters to decide on legalizing cannabis in 2024. This push comes as medical cannabis is thriving and fake cannabis is taking lives.
Currently, the medical industry already serves 788,297 people in the state, all of whom currently have active cards. Trulieve, who sells medical cannabis in Florida and also operates in other states, has contributed $5.5 million to Smart & Safe Florida, the political group heading up petitions to get cannabis on the ballot, in the hopes that they will be able to expand their operations.
This could also have huge monetary impacts on the state, as Florida is currently poised to give growing licenses to another 22 companies this April, adding to the 22 companies already legally operating in the state. Florida will be accepting applications between April 24 and 28 for those looking to get newly licensed.
This is the first time in five years that the state has decided to allow more licenses, so if recreational cannabis is approved, the timing could be perfect. The state has also allocated more funds for staffing for its Office of Medical Marijuana Use to keep up with a growing demand just on the medical side. This will definitely come in handy, and maybe need to be expanded further, if recreational cannabis passes.
“Florida is the largest medical marijuana market in the country,” says Cris Rivera, Florida Regional President, Cresco Labs, a cannabis company that operates 23 Sunnyside stores in Florida. “It’s a really, really great market. We have fantastic quality products and every assortment mix you can imagine.”
In addition to how much the state could benefit from recreational cannabis, which to date has proven not to be a deadly drug, people are currently losing their lives from “fake weed,” or synthetic cannabis alternatives. While cannabis has health risks when consumed in certain ways, the synthetic products have been known to kill people or make them badly sick. Supporters argue that people would not need to resort to these alternatives if cannabis was legal.
If Florida wins the right to put signatures on the ballot, then cannabis will be a part of the 2024 vote, and legal cannabis will be decided alongside the state helping to choose our next president. Currently, 21 states already have recreational cannabis, with almost all states having some medical access.
Smart & Safe has made it past one huddle so far, as they have collected enough signatures for the Florida Supreme Court to review the proposed amendment. Now, they just need the Court’s approval in order to collect hundreds of thousands more signatures. If they can do all that, they will get on the ballot. The folks with Smart & Safe remain optimistic that they will make it to that stage.
“People see an opportunity to build an infrastructure with a license for medical marijuana and then capitalize on it when the recreational market opens,” says Dustin Robinson, founding partner of Mr. Cannabis Law in Fort Lauderdale. “When that happens, Florida could be the largest market in the world.”
Robinson said the application pool for the 22 licenses already appears competitive. He expects at least 50 applicants, possibly even 100. “There are a lot of people who want to get into the Florida markets but it is expensive to get in.”
It’s still up in the air whether or not legal cannabis will make it onto the ballot in 2024, but if it does, the industry and state will be able to boom, offering a safer consumption option for folks across Florida.
