Bipartisan senators in Florida are criticizing Gov. DeSantis for using taxpayer funds to finance anti-cannabis advertisements opposing a measure to legalize cannabis. This news was first brought to the public by an independent journalist, Jason Garcia, who commented on the possible use of the opioid funds for cannabis-related public service announcements.
Soon after, reports from the Tampa Bay Times confirmed that state funds from a settlement fund to help alleviate the opioid crisis were allocated to a 3rd party marketing firm for ads. This is despite the fact that the settlement’s terms specifically state that the funds are meant to mitigate the opioid epidemic.
This past Friday, senators Joe Gruters and Jason Pizzo joined John Morgan, a cannabis reform advocate and Florida attorney, to discuss ads they believe are focused on dissuading voters from supporting Amendment 3.
Just days before, Judge Angela Dempsey of the state Circuit Court dismissed a suit which challenged the constitutionality of these ads. In his argument, Pizzo stated that the content and timing of the ads strongly suggested that they were politically motivated, which violated statute.
This isn’t the first-time officials have run ads cautioning against the use of marijuana. However, the fact that a number of state agencies are running multiple anti-marijuana ads, including some that make controversial statements that legalization in other states had contributed to issues like impaired driving, points to an agenda.
Pizzo also revealed that data showed that over $50 million had been spent on these ads, adding that the use of appropriated funds in this way made the alleged activity a misdemeanor.
For his part, Gruters emphasized that this was a bipartisan issue as taxpayer funds weren’t supposed to be spent to advance a political issue. He added that taxes were meant to be spent on schools, roads, the police and other public programs.
Gruters then noted that under no circumstance should the government of the state of Florida decide, especially with no input from the legislature, that tax payer funds would be spent on a political agenda. He argued that this move by the governor was in violation of state law, in addition to being undemocratic.
Gruters also asserted that state agencies were owed explanations if it was true that millions were redirected to promote the ‘propaganda’ from a settlement account associated with opioids.
Despite the pushback, DeSantis carries on campaigning against the legalization initiative, holding different press conferences featuring state health and law enforcement officials crusading against the reform.
The use of taxpayer funds to finance ads against the cannabis legalization measure in Florida is something that marijuana companies like TerrAscend Corp. (TSX: TSND) (OTCQX: TSNDF) are unlikely to condone since it is not just morally wrong but could even be regarded as an abuse of public funds given that sections of voters in that state support adult-use cannabis legalization.
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