DeSantis official criticizes Amendment 3 for lacking ‘native’ element • Florida Phoenix

Ron DeSantis has made it clear that he opposes Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that will be put to a vote in Florida this fall and would legalize the recreational use of cannabis for adults ages 21 and older.

But a member of his staff put forward a novel argument against the measure on social media on Tuesday: The measure does not allow “home cultivation,” the ability of individuals to grow their own marijuana supplies.

“So here’s the thing: Amendment 3 would create a monopoly on recreational use,” Christina Pushaw wrote on X. “It also doesn’t allow home cultivation. Why do other states that have legalized marijuana for recreational use also allow individuals to grow their own, but Florida’s Amendment 3 specifically does NOT? It’s not about ‘freedom,’ it’s about corporate greed.”

According to the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), of the 24 states that have legalized the recreational marijuana market, only three criminalize home cultivation. Since Florida voters approved medical marijuana in 2016, several cannabis activists have called for home cultivation to be legal, and some complain that Amendment 3 would not allow it.

The Libertarian Party of Florida endorsed Amendment 3 last month, but said in a statement that while it was “a laudable step forward, it does not go far enough.”

“We must continue to advocate for the right to grow cannabis at home and allow Floridians to grow their own plants for personal use,” said Matthew Johnson, the party’s vice chairman and chairman of the communications committee.

Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, Florida’s largest marijuana company, which spent more than $60 million to get Amendment 3 passed, responded to Pushaw on X, saying, “Great news – looks like @GovRonDeSantis supports home cultivation in Florida, according to his spokesperson!”

Rivers further argued that this particular provision could not be included because a provision in the Florida State Constitution only allows a single subject to be mentioned in the text of the amendment – a fact that they said DeSantis and his team are aware of.

“This is definitely something we can support by implementing in the legislature, and with the support of the governor, we can do it!” she added.

When others chimed in and criticized Trulieve for allegedly opposing the legalization of domestically grown cannabis in Florida because it would hurt the company’s bottom line, Rivers insisted that was not the case.

“We have supported home growing in every market we operate in,” she wrote on X. “We sell clones in the markets where it is allowed. In Florida, we have petitioned and helped change the home growing law. We see it as a market expansion, not a challenge!”

The one-subject rule

Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution states the following about the single-subject rule:

“The right to propose by initiative the revision or amendment of any part or parts of this Constitution is reserved to the people, provided that such revision or amendment, except those limiting the power of the Government to raise revenue, shall only concern a subject and a matter directly related thereto.”

“It seems to me that the DeSantis administration is really reaching deep into its playbook and falling short,” said Chris Cano, executive director of the Suncoast Chapter of NORML. “I’ve heard this argument (from critics) long before DeSantis even decided to get involved in the whole fight over Amendment 3 and the hemp industry.”

Cano pointed to the fact that hemp companies, grateful for DeSantis’ veto of a bill that would have impacted their industry, have begun financially supporting efforts to repeal Amendment 3.

“It’s a common topic of conversation for those in the hemp industry who oppose Amendment 3,” he said, adding, “It’s an ignorant topic because Florida’s single-subject rule is what makes amendments what they are. It’s just a red herring that we’ve heard since the amendment was approved by the Florida Supreme Court.”

In 2018, Joe Redner, an owner of an adult club in Tampa, filed suit in state court, arguing that he needed to be allowed to grow marijuana to obtain sufficient quality of certain cannabinoids he needed to treat his diagnosis of stage four lung cancer, court documents show.

A Leon County district judge ruled he should be allowed to do so, but the Florida Department of Health appealed to the First District Court of Appeals, which blocked the district judge’s decision. The Florida Supreme Court declined to take the case in November 2019.

Morgan Hill, a spokeswoman for Smart & Safe, the political committee pushing for passage of Amendment 3, said she has heard questions not only from individuals about home cultivation, wanting to know why it was not included in the ballot language, but also about the retroactive decriminalization of cannabis possession.

“That’s because the requirements for voting in Florida are different than in other states,” she said. “Our position has been the same from the beginning. You should ask the governor’s team and Christina what she thinks about that.”

Fight for money

Keep Florida Clean, a political committee formed to oppose Amendment 3, has raised more than $12 million so far, with the majority of that coming from Miami hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin. Governor DeSantis’ Florida Freedom Fund PAC and the Florida Republican Party are also raising money to fight the measure.

Amendment 3 needs 60% approval from voters to become law. While several polls showed the measure crossing that threshold, a Florida Atlantic University poll released last week showed it receiving 56%, a majority but not the margin needed to win.

Pushaw previously worked as a spokeswoman for the governor’s office. After leaving the office last year to work on his presidential campaign, she is now listed in state filings as a senior management analyst in the governor’s office.

The Phoenix reached out to the governor’s press office for comment but did not receive an immediate response.