A hedge fund billionaire announced on Friday that he’s spending $20 million “in support of candidates and to oppose Amendment 3” a Florida marijuana legalization proposal set to go before voters in November. Of that, a $12 million donation will go directly to the Vote No on 3 campaign.
Ken Griffin, CEO of the financial firm Citadel LLC, called the legalization initiative “a terrible plan to create the nation’s most expansive and destructive marijuana laws.”
“These investments reflect my commitment to the policies and principles that have made Florida so successful—equal opportunity, high-quality education, efficient and effective government and safe and strong communities,” Griffin wrote in a Miami Herald op-ed.
The Miami-based hedge fund manager, investor and entrepreneur described his millions in campaign donations as “investing in Florida’s future.”
“No other state is making so much progress, so quickly, on so many fronts,” he wrote. He said he’s opposing Amendment 3 “to ensure that our state’s many advantages aren’t thrown away.”
“Passage of Amendment 3 would create a monopoly for large marijuana dispensaries and permit pot use in public and private areas throughout Florida,” he claimed in the piece. “That will help no one other than special interests—and it will hurt us all, especially through more dangerous roads, a higher risk of addiction among our youth, and an increase in crime.”
Meanwhile a recent poll suggests the amendment currently has enough support to pass, with majority support across every voter demographic surveyed.
The University of North Florida (UNF) poll, released on Tuesday, found that 64 percent of likely voters back the cannabis reform measure, surpassing the 60 percent threshold required for enacting a constitutional amendment. Notably, the respondents in the survey were read the full text of the Amendment 3 summary that will appear on their ballots.
Democrats were most supportive of the proposal at 79 percent, followed by independents (63 percent) and Republicans (50 percent). There was also majority support across each race and age demographic, as well as among both those who voted for President Joe Biden (78 percent) and former President Donald Trump (50 percent) in 2020.
The new donations from Griffin narrow the gap between the legalization proposal’s supporters—who have raised far more overall, predominantly from the marijuana company Trulieve—and opponents, led largely by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), who has repeatedly lashed out against legalization.
A member of DeSantis’s staff, senior analyst Christina Pushaw, posted Griffin’s op-ed on on social media, adding: “Whether you are for or against marijuana, the fact is that Amendment 3 is NOT what its backers try to back it as. Don’t California our Florida!”
Hellbound and Down 