If recreational marijuana gets on November ballot, state could see high earnings
MIAMI - Should recreational marijuana be on the November ballot? That is the current legal question being weighed by the Florida Supreme Court and they could rule on it at any moment.
CBS News Miami's Chelsea Jones spent time digging into the financial impact medical marijuana currently has on the state and what voters think about the possibility of a law opening up the door to the drug's use.
When Steven Vancore looks at marijuana, he sees medicine. His former partner had cancer and he says medicinal marijuana made her last days bearable.
"When she was in extreme pain and having extreme spasms from tumors throughout her midsection, the cannabis allowed her to calm down, to get a little bit of numbness in there to get the opioids she was prescribed to take effect," he said.
Vancore is a spokesperson for Trulieve, the company supports the Safe Smart Florida initiative pushing for recreational use of marijuana in the state. The Florida Supreme Court has until April to decide if it will be put on the November ballot. If it is put on the ballot, and it passes, it would allow those 21 and up to possess and use marijuana legally.
However, not everyone is certain they want a law like that passed.
Cynthia Seymour says she has a teenage daughter and access is a major concern for her. "While I used to be all for it, I'm somewhere in the middle now," she said.
Jay Siddiqui says he supports medical marijuana but is hesitant about recreational use. "Addiction, I guess would be the number one thing I think I would have a problem with it but medically I think some people do actually need it," he said.
On the other side of the issue, you have those who think it should be legal.
" I think like anything, it could be helpful if used in the right way and it can also be harmful used in the wrong way. There has to be some regulation, but I don't think it should be illegal," said a woman we spoke to in Coconut Grove.
Doctor Jay Ellenby says he sees many different conditions when he prescribes marijuana to his patients.
"By far the two most prevalent conditions are number one chronic pain, and number two stress and anxiety associated problems with sleep, depression, focus, concentration," he said.
BDSA is a cannabis data company that tracks the revenue of licensed dispensaries. Just this year, medical marijuana sales in Florida is over $2,800,000,000. If the recreational use law clears the Supreme Court and 60% of voters in November, the company projects recreational sales alone will be over $870,000,000.
In a 2023 report from the state, it shows the state makes no sales tax money off of medical marijuana but if recreational use becomes legal the state stands to make over $195,000,000 a year in state and local tax revenues. The report also makes clear that it's unknown how the state would allocate that money.
Vancore asserts that this new market would have to be regulated.
"You see people lacing cannabis with meth, with ketamine, with fentanyl, and people are dying from these things. When you go to an adult-use market, it's going to be a regulated market. And every state that does this, every product is third-party tested for purity and safety," he said.
The state crunched the numbers of what it would cost to create and maintain a structure for recreational marijuana use in the state. It found annually it would cost $11,400,000 to regulate it and roughly $9,000,000 for initial costs. If passed Vancore says the marijuana will be safe.
While the state does not collect tax on medical marijuana it does collect licensing fees.
The original $60,000 fee for a two-year license is expected to go up to $1,300,000.
At that $60,000 price tag, the CBS News Data Team found licenses have increased every year since 2022.
There were nearly 400 licenses at the start of that year, and it brought in an estimated $11,900,000.
At the start of 2024, there were 615 licenses, and they are projected to bring in an estimated $18,500,000.
So, where is that money going? We working to find out and we'll keep you updated.