Florida marijuana firm sues GOP in amendment fight
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's largest medical marijuana company filed a defamation lawsuit Wednesday accusing the state Republican Party of launching an "intentionally deceptive campaign" to mislead voters about a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the recreational use of marijuana.
With voting by mail already underway in the Nov. 5 election, the lawsuit filed by Trulieve, Inc. - which has spent nearly $93 million on the recreational marijuana initiative - also accused the owners of two Fort Myers-based television stations of running a "demonstrably false" ad "trying to fool Florida voters" into voting against what will appear on the ballot as Amendment 3.
"The GOP knew that the claims in the deceptive mailer and ad were false, intentionally deceptive, and duplicitous but published them anyway in order to trick Florida voters into voting against a ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Florida," the lawsuit said.
The TV ad features a gardener who sees a news broadcast saying that the amendment could "legalize recreational marijuana." The gardener rushes to start planting but is confronted by a "Big Weed" character that says, "Actually, we wrote the amendment, so we're the only ones that can grow it."
Amendment 3
The inability of people to grow their own weed has become a major issue in efforts to defeat the proposal. Opponents of the marijuana measure, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, contend that the proposal will help the state's "monopoly" of licensed medical marijuana companies because it will allow them to begin selling recreational pot. The measure also would allow the Legislature to expand the number of operators.
"Amendment 3 cannot prohibit something that is already prohibited, and the plain text of Amendment 3 says nothing about the home cultivation of cannabis and does not change the current state of the law with respect to that issue," the lawsuit said.
Trulieve's lawyers argued that the "Big Weed" character "is reasonably understood" by Florida voters to be Trulieve, because the company is "the largest cannabis manufacturer in the state, and because prominent Florida Republicans have publicly claimed that Trulieve authored Amendment 3."
The "gist of the ad" is that Trulieve drafted the proposal to minimize competition, the lawsuit alleged.
According to the lawsuit, the Republican Party of Florida "paid the media defendants" to broadcast the "deceptive" television ad.
The challenge also focuses in part on mailers sent out by the Republican Party of Florida calling the marijuana proposal "a power grab by mega marijuana corporations, eliminating their competition and enshrining their monopoly advantage in the Constitution forever."
The mailer is false because the proposal would allow the Legislature to increase the number of marijuana operators in the state, the lawsuit alleged.
"In truth, Florida has a competitive market of 25 licensed" medical-marijuana operators, "in which no single company accounts for even half the market," lawyers for Quincy-based Trulieve wrote in the lawsuit filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit. "And rather than eliminating competition, the ballot initiative would increase competition by allowing the state to authorize additional licenses to grow and sell cannabis."
In addition to the Republican Party of Florida, the lawsuit names as defendants Sun Broadcasting, Inc., which owns and operates the WXCW station, and Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, which owns and operates station WINK and is affiliated with Sun Broadcasting.
Trulieve is the main money source behind the ballot initiative, providing about $92.8 million of the nearly $101.4 million in cash and in-kind contributions made to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is sponsoring the proposal.
State Republican Chairman Evan Power fired back Wednesday against the company.
"It is so funny that a company that puts almost $100 million into a political campaign is so sensitive about honest TV ads," Power said in a text message. "The proponents of Amendment 3 are trying to take down these ads that they know are truthful and are working. That is why they are using lawfare to try to silence us, but we will not be deterred in our efforts. If this huge, powerful corporation can't handle it, then they should go sit at the little kid's table."
The TV stations did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit, which was provided to The News Service of Florida and filed in Gadsden County.
Trulieve lawsuit
Trulieve has 151 dispensaries throughout Florida - almost double the number of any other medical marijuana operator. Trulieve sold nearly 38 percent of the total amount of smokable marijuana sold statewide during the week that ended Sept. 26, according to a report issued by the Florida Department of Health. The company sold about 30 percent of other products sold statewide, the report said.
Trulieve filed the lawsuit "to set the record straight, to vindicate its rights under civil law, to hold the defendants accountable for deceiving voters, and to recover compensatory and punitive damages," the lawsuit said.
Republican leaders in Florida largely have come out in opposition to the marijuana proposal.
DeSantis' chief of staff, James Uthmeier, is heading two political committees aimed at defeating Amendment 3 and Amendment 4, a measure seeking to enshrine abortion rights in the state Constitution. The DeSantis administration has used state resources to oppose both measures. As an example, the Florida Department of Transportation recently released public service announcements that say passage of the marijuana proposal could lead to more car crashes and higher auto insurance premiums.
The state Republican Party in May approved a resolution opposing Amendment 3, saying the proposal would endanger the state's "family-friendly business and tourism climates."
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election, is backing the measure, however.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday repeatedly said Florida has 25 licensed medical-marijuana companies and that state regulators have accepted applications for another 22 licenses.
Trulieve filed the lawsuit about a week after sending letters to the TV stations demanding that they pull down the ad.
"The GOP acted with actual malice, either knowingly or recklessly disregarding that the statements it published about Trulieve were false ... and - when specifically put on notice of the truth and asked to retract - refusing to retract, because the GOP intends to dupe Florida voters into voting against a ballot initiative that would legalize the recreational use of cannabis in Florida," the lawsuit said.