Florida’s Largest Medical Marijuana Company Sues GOP Over Alleged Deceptive Campaign
Trulieve, Inc., the state’s largest medical marijuana company, has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Republican Party of Florida and two television stations, accusing them of launching a “deceptive campaign” to mislead voters about a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the recreational use of marijuana.
The lawsuit, filed in the 2nd Judicial Circuit, alleges that the GOP and the television stations, Sun Broadcasting, Inc. and Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, ran a “demonstrably false” ad that claimed Trulieve drafted the amendment to minimize competition and create a monopoly. The ad features a gardener who sees a news broadcast saying that the amendment could “legalize recreational marijuana,” and then a “Big Weed” character appears, saying that Trulieve wrote the amendment and is the only one that can grow it.
Trulieve’s lawyers argue that the ad is intentionally deceptive and is trying to fool voters into voting against the amendment. The company claims that the GOP knew the claims were false but published them anyway to trick voters.
The lawsuit also focuses on mailers sent out by the Republican Party of Florida, which claimed that the marijuana proposal is a “power grab by mega marijuana corporations, eliminating their competition and enshrining their monopoly advantage in the Constitution forever.” Trulieve’s lawyers argue that this is false, as the proposal would allow the Legislature to increase the number of marijuana operators in the state.
Trulieve has spent nearly $93 million on the recreational marijuana initiative and is the main money source behind the ballot proposal. The company has 151 dispensaries throughout Florida and sold nearly 38 percent of the total amount of smokable marijuana sold statewide during the week that ended September 26.
The lawsuit seeks to set the record straight, vindicate Trulieve’s rights under civil law, hold the defendants accountable for deceiving voters, and recover compensatory and punitive damages.
The Republican Party of Florida has fired back, saying that Trulieve is trying to silence them with “lawfare” and that the ad is truthful. The party has also been critical of the proposal, claiming it would create a monopoly and harm the state’s “family-friendly business and tourism climates.”
