Ron DeSantis, Florida's GOP And Hemp Industry Pile On To Defeat Marijuana Legalization

After Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill in early June that would have severely limited and regulated the hemp industry, executives in the industry pledged $5 million in donations to the Republican Party of Florida earmarked to support the governor’s vociferous effort to defeat the legalization of cannabis, according to WhatsApp messages reviewed by CBS News Miami. Known as Amendment 3, the initiative seeks to legalize recreational marijuana at the ballot box in the November 2024 election.

“We know nothing in life is free and neither was this veto,” explained an introductory post on the WhatsApp message group known as Save Florida Hemp.

If DeSantis had signed the bill into law, hemp supporters say it would have decimated their industry, put thousands of people out of work and cost the state billions in revenue.

Read Also: DeSantis Is Less Popular Than Florida’s Cannabis Amendment, Wealthy Attorney John Morgan Eyes Gubernatorial Run

We’ve Got Your Back, Gov

“We are currently seen as DeSantis’s allies to defeat the recreational ballot initiative,” announced the WhatsApp post, which was published on June 27, less than three weeks after the DeSantis hemp veto. “Our lobby team made promises to rally some serious funding to stand with him on this. He chose Hemp as his champion and now we’ve got to deliver.”

That said, the governor’s office denied there was any deal regarding DeSantis' veto, reported CBS News Miami.

Save Florida Hemp has more than a thousand members, including major labs and hemp manufacturers as well as small shops that sell unregulated cannabis products, such as Delta 8 and Delta 9 all over the state.

Quid Pro Quo?

“They [critics] want to talk about quid pro quo,” Ernie Ciaccio, an owner of Honest PP&D, one of the largest hemp distributors in Florida, told CBS News Miami. “Look, that’s not what this is. What this is, is a governor who fought for small business, who said clearly when he issued the veto that he didn’t like the legislation because it was going to hurt small business. And this is small business stepping up to the plate and supporting that governor against an initiative that not only he feels is wrong, but we as an industry feel is wrong.”

Ciaccio told the outlet that he hopes the group will raise more than $5 million for the Republican Party of Florida to help defeat legal marijuana.

But Why?

Hemp executives and supporters say if marijuana is legalized in Florida, they worry they'll be at a disadvantage by selling less potent hemp products.

And then there's the GOP connection.

The hemp industry’s ties to the state’s Republican Party are well-known and traditional. The hemp group’s two main lobbyists happen to be Evan Power, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida and Bill Helmich, the GOP party’s executive director.

CBS News Miami pointed out that "[although] the average person may not realize it, the hemp industry and the marijuana industry are two distinct entities that are bitter rivals throughout Florida."

If people didn't realize that before, they sure do now.

Now Read:

• DeSantis’ Fierce Opposition Notwithstanding, Florida’s Cannabis Legalization Amendment Shatters All Fundraising Records

Photo: Benzinga edit of image by Matthew Brodeur on Unsplash and Wikimedia Commons