Is the Recreational Weed Ballot Initiative Going Up in Smoke? Republican Firm’s Signature Gathering Efforts Have Fallen Behind

After prior, failed attempts to get a recreational marijuana constitutional amendment on the ballot, the marijuana company Trulieve Cannabis Corp. has decided to go it alone heading into 2024. Unfortunately for the Bellamy Brothers and other in-state tokers, the effort may be just as doomed as it 2021 predecessor.

This time around the political committee Smart and Safe Florida onboarded a Republican team to run the effort, Vanguard Field Strategies and Axiom Strategies. According to campaign reports they have received at least $18.02 million for their energies to date. 

Interestingly, Axiom is managed by a lead consultant and close confidante to Senator Ted Cruz, who Forbes once listed as one of the “Five Worst Senators on Marijuana Policy.”

It’s not the first time (or the last time) that a consultant will be on either side of an issue, but it is interesting that the weed ballot initiative might appear on the ballot beside a Ted Cruz president run, or while the Senator is running for reelection in Texas. 

Distractions like that may not bode well for the campaign team, which has taken nearly six months to collect the first batch of required signatures – at least 222,898 valid signatures - which triggers a judicial and financial impact review.That means they have to basically quadruple the number of signatures - 891,589 - in the next 12 or so months to make the ballot. And, the campaign team is coming under fire for falling short elsewhere. 

According to FOX 5 Las Vegas, the Florida team is facing a lawsuit there for dramatically failing to get a measure on the ballot. In Clark County, a political committee “agreed to pay Vanguard more than $2.2 million for the signatures. However, when reviewed by the Nevada Secretary of State, it was revealed a number of the signatures obtained by Vanguard were invalid…

“According to the Clerk of Carson City, the validity rate for the signatures Vanguard submitted was ‘a meager 29.4%.’” The lawsuit argues that “Vanguard Field Strategies breached its contract after they were hired and agreed to deliver signatures ‘at a 70% validity rate.’”

Most public polling suggests that recreational weed is popular in the state but the legislature in recent years has made it more difficult to put measures on the ballot.  Without a pretty dramatic turnaround from the committee.