DeSantis leaving no political stone unturned

AMENDMENT 3
Florida politics being Florida politics

Driving the news: In the midst of the Amendment 3 campaign in Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is pulling all the political levers of government to try and kill the legalization effort. These levers include using taxpayer funds to stir reefer madness in the state:

DeSantis has launched a series of ads talking about the dangers of cannabis funded by the State Department of Transportation and the State Department of Education.

Back-up a minute: Amendment 3 has become the most expensive legalization campaign ever – including Trulieve putting in upwards of $100 million to fund the Yes on 3 campaign. The Yes on 3 campaign also received the endorsement of none other than former President Donald Trump. Polls show the initiative creeping up near the 60% mark needed for passage. But, that hasn’t stopped DeSantis from throwing everything at killing the measure — even if it means using taxpayer money to do it. 

The new ad: The ad below is not (repeat, is NOT) a vote no on Amendment 3 campaign ad. It’s produced and paid for by the Florida Department of Transportation. So the timing and messaging is a little…convenient, to say the least. 

In the ad, Sheriff T.K. Waters from Jacksonville notes, “Too many kids are going to the ER because of weed gummies and joints laced with Fentanyl.” 

You can watch the ad:

What’s next? Expect an honest discussion about the benefits — or challenges — with legalization in Florida to take a backseat to Florida politics as usual. With the Florida Department of Transportation and the Florida Department of Education already engaged in a political fight, we have to wonder which State agency is next.

-JR

The Freakonomics podcast has a 4-part series currently running titled, Is America Switching from Booze to Weed? Here’s a quote to kick things off: 

“In the U. S. today, there are more DND users of cannabis — that stands for daily or near daily — than there are daily or near daily users of alcohol.  Let that sink in for a minute.”

Indeed, let that sink in — and then subscribe to the podcast series.

WeedWeek endorses for President
The Editorial team at WeedWeek has officially endorsed Kamala Harris for President, saying, among other things: “Former president Donald Trump is as unfit to be president as he is to be a budtender…”

Reports of two studies were published in the JAMA Network last week researching the impact on autism and child development as it relates to cannabis use of the mother. Both showed no correlation. Marijuana Moment has the full write up and you can find the full reports on JAMA Network.

New York dispensary openings continue 
As New York’s cannabis market continues to open up new stores, it means new neighborhoods and communities are celebrating a series of firsts. Alta Dispensary opened in Chinatown in New York City this past week — as did Hibernica in Pelham Bay, in the Bronx.

Green Thumb Industries (GTI) Beverage is hiring for three roles, according Rick Schepp: 

• Trade Marketing Director, Beverage, 

• Sr. Brand Manager, Beverage, and 

• Beverage Sales Director

Drink up!

Attorney Kieran Ringgenberg did his own analysis about ownership of retail licenses in California and produced the chart below, showing some consolidation around some major retail brands. 

See his full analysis on LinkedIn.

As we write about often, we are in the midst of a Presidential campaign where cannabis has become a front-burner issue. With that in mind, Willie Nelson and Friends will be hosting a Cannabis Community for Kamala Zoom with Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday evening.

Registration is open.

This is the cannabis content you didn’t know you needed. Al Roker invited Snoop Dogg on to deliver the weather report across the US. It went exactly as you might expect…

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