Yo, listen up! So check it, the peeps who were pushing for a citizen’s initiative in Florida to let medical marijuana patients grow their own weed at home have called it quits. They couldn’t gather enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot for the 2024 general election. Bummer, right?
This badass cannabis activist named Moriah Barnhart started this group called Wise and Free back in December 2022. Their mission was to get this medical marijuana home cultivation initiative on the ballot. But it ain’t easy, my friends. Those Republican lawmakers threw in some new restrictions and fees in 2019 that make it hella difficult to get these types of initiatives passed.
Barnhart ain’t too thrilled about it either. She straight up said, “The legislators keep makin’ it harder for us to pass constitutional amendments so that big corporations can get what they want, but we can’t.” And she ain’t wrong, yo.
So here’s the deal. Barnhart and her crew had a hell of a time finding enough volunteers to help out. And they only raised around $4,000. That ain’t even close to what they needed to pay for all the professionals and staff to collect all them damn signatures. They needed almost 900,000 signatures, bro. That’s a shit-ton!
And guess what? They also had hella administrative and accounting fees that were more than the donations they were gettin’. Wise and Free Florida ended up in debt, my dudes. That’s when Barnhart made the tough call to withdraw the petition for the initiative. So that’s a wrap on their efforts for the 2024 election.
Barnhart is pissed, man. She said, “Now, billion-dollar companies and conglomerates are the only people who can have a say in Florida law.” She’s been fightin’ for this cause ever since her daughter Dahlia was diagnosed with brain cancer 13 years ago. Cannabis changed her life, bro. It improved her quality of life and even saved her damn life.
Dahlia started using cannabis about six months into her treatment, and she slept through the night for the first time ever. That’s some real shit, man. Within days, she was walkin’, talkin’, laughin’, and playin’ like a champ. Barnhart truly believes cannabis saved her daughter’s life. And who are we to argue with that?
Now, there’s this other initiative to legalize recreational marijuana that Trulieve, the biggest medical marijuana provider in Florida, is supportin’. It’s currently bein’ reviewed by the state Supreme Court. If it passes all the legal mumbo jumbo, it’ll be on the ballot next year. But here’s the thing, Barnhart is scared shitless that if recreational weed becomes legal, it’s gonna mess up the medical marijuana program.
She thinks dispensaries will start focusin’ on gettin’ high-THC products for all them recreational users. And that means there won’t be enough low-THC products or those with THC and CBD that many medical patients need. She’s seen it happen in Oregon, Washington, and California when they legalized recreational weed after medical weed. The number of products for medical patients went down, yo.
But here’s where Barnhart makes a point. In those states, at least you can grow your own weed at home. That way you can get exactly what you need. She said, “We need botanical medicines to be as personalized as possible.” Big corporations don’t give a shit about personalization, man. They just care about the bottom line.
So now that the medical marijuana home cultivation initiative didn’t make it, Barnhart hopes that Trulieve or another big company steps up and supports a new initiative for home cultivation as a sign of goodwill for the patients. Trulieve has been droppin’ mad cash on the recreational marijuana initiative, so maybe they’ll be down to help out.
A spokesperson for Trulieve said they’re focused on gettin’ the recreational initiative passed right now, but they’ve supported home-grow initiatives in the past and might do it again in the future. So, who knows what’s gonna happen, man? All we can do is keep fightin’ and pushin’ for what we believe in.
So that’s the scoop, my friends. The medical marijuana home cultivation initiative is dead for now. But don’t lose hope. There’s always another chance to make a change. Keep fightin’ for what you believe in and stay fly, y’all!