Justices, in a 5-2 decision, said a proposal by the political committee Sensible Florida included ballot wording that would mislead voters. Credit: Photo via Adobe
The medical-cannabis company Trulieve has contributed more than $39 million to a ballot initiative aimed at legalizing recreational use of marijuana, according to a finance report posted Monday on the state Division of Elections website.

Trulieve contributed $550,000 in May to Smart & Safe Florida, a political committee trying to put the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

That brought the company’s contributions to $39.05 million, according to the report.

That is all but $124.58 of the money raised by the committee, which had spent $38.63 million as of May 31, according to the report.

The committee has spent most of its money on collecting and verifying petition signatures.

It has exceeded a requirement of submitting 891,523 valid petition signatures to the state. But it still needs the Florida Supreme Court to sign off on the proposed wording of the initiative before the proposal can go on the ballot.

The “Adult Personal Use of Marijuana” proposal would allow people 21 or older “to possess, purchase, or use marijuana products and marijuana accessories for non-medical personal consumption by smoking, ingestion, or otherwise.”

Florida voters in 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that broadly allowed medical marijuana.

This article appears in Jun 8-14, 2023.