TALLAHASSEE — Nearly 56% of Florida voters supported a measure that would have allowed recreational use of marijuana for adults, but that wasn’t enough to push the proposed constitutional amendment over the finish line. The failure of what appeared as Amendment 3 on Tuesday’s ballot raises questions about the future of the medical-marijuana industry in a state with more cannabis patients than any other in the nation but where some operators have struggled to gain a foothold. The recreational pot proposal would have allowed the state’s 25 licensed medical-marijuana companies to begin selling weed products to people over age 21 — including Florida’s 100 million-plus visitors annually — without regard to medical need.
Trulieve, Florida’s largest medical-marijuana operator, pumped more than $143 million into the effort, contributing about 94% of the total money collected by the Smart & Safe Florida political committee that sponsored the initiative. Almost 6 million Floridians voted in favor of Amendment 3 . But Gov.
Ron DeSantis flexed his executive authority in a state-backed crusade against the measure and played an outsized role in blocking it from receiving the 60% approval required to pass. Without question, approval of the proposal would have reaped big bucks for Quincy-based Trulieve, along with other cannabis companies in the state.Trulieve eclipses other Florida operators in sales and has almost twice the number of dispensaries as its closest competitor.
.