TCNNF - DeSantis' Fierce Opposition Notwithstanding Florida's Cannabis Legalization Amendment Shatters All Fundraising Records | Benzinga
Florida's latest and fifth attempt to legalize recreational marijuana via a ballot initiative this coming November is drawing unprecedented financial support, making it the most-funded measure of its kind in history.
Smart & Safe Florida, the committee leading the initiative, broke new fundraising records, according to June 10 campaign filings, reported by Open Secret, which noted that the campaign has raised more than any other marijuana-related ballot measure committee in a single election cycle ever and is the most-funded measure of 2024.
Smart and Safe has raised over $40 million, surpassing the previous record set by California’s 2016 Proposition 64.
Jeanne Hanna, director of research at the Center for Political Accountability told OpenSecrets that medical marijuana companies may be donating to this ballot measure in lieu of other political spending because of potential risks and pitfalls that come with them.
“It’s not a terribly common type in the grand scope of corporations getting involved in politics with their money,” Hanna said regarding ballot measure spending. “But ...