WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Groups on both sides of the recreational marijuana debate are spending big money to influence your vote on Amendment 3.

If Amendment 3 is passed, adults over the age of 21 in Florida could purchase, possess and use marijuana without having a health insurance card.

Proponents say it will make a substance many people already use safer and generate revenue for the government.

But a new ad paid for by opponents is urging voters not to accept that argument. WPTV reviewed the ad for accuracy and found several misleading claims.

“Big corporations don’t do things out of the goodness of their hearts,” begins the commercial titled “Monopoly.”

Read the full text of the amendment:

Claim 1 – “Major marijuana companies spent $60 million to put Amendment 3 on your ballot.”

This statement is true if you round up.

Campaign finance records from Smart & Safe Florida, the group that sponsored Amendment 3, show that marijuana companies donated just over $55.4 million before April 1, 2024, the day Florida’s Supreme Court cleared the way for Amendment 3 to be placed on the ballot.

Since then, marijuana companies have donated well over $60 million to Smart & Safe Florida, the group that sponsored Amendment 3.

Claim 2 – Amendment 3 “enshrines its monopoly…”

That is wrong.

The dictionary definition of a monopoly is: “A good controlled by one party.”

There are currently 25 parties licensed to sell medical marijuana in Florida. Amendment 3 includes a provision that would automatically allow medical license holders to sell to all adults if the amendment goes into effect.

CLAIM 3 – Amendment 3 “prohibits home-grown marijuana…”

This is misleading.

Growing marijuana at home is already illegal in Florida.

Although the wording in Amendment 3 suggests that it would still not be allowed, the amendment would not be responsible for the ban.

Statement 4 – Amendment 3 ‘grant special licences to selected companies’

This claim is unclear.

While the amendment does not mention a “special license,” it does include a clause that allows lawmakers to create a new type of license for facilities that are not medical marijuana treatment centers.

In theory, this would allow more companies to enter the Florida market.

Opponents stand by the ad

WPTV asked Vote No on 3, the group behind the ad, officially registered with the state as Keep Florida Clean, Inc., to clarify its claims.

Regarding the first claim that $60 million would be needed to put the amendment on the ballot, a spokesperson confirmed that the Supreme Court had approved the ballot proposal on April 1, 2024, but pointed to donations through April 30, 2024. Those amounts did indeed exceed $60 million in April, but only after the first of the month.

The spokesperson also provided a letter that Keep Florida Clean’s attorney sent to Smart & Safe Florida in response to a cease and desist request regarding the “Monopoly” advertisement. The letter addressed the allegations about domestic marijuana cultivation, the creation of a marijuana monopoly and the “special licenses.”

The letter states that the claim that “Amendment 3 is the direct source of the prohibition” of home marijuana cultivation “misses the point” and is a “dispute over semantics.”

The letter also cites his definition of the word “monopoly,” drawing on case law and Black’s Law Dictionary, which define the term as including multiple entities.

Finally, regarding the requirement for “special licenses,” the attorney asserted: “The grandfathering rule (for medical marijuana treatment centers) in the recreational marijuana business is unique in and of itself and … there is no guarantee that the Florida Legislature will approve additional licenses.”

“Our opponents have tried to get this ad removed to no avail,” said campaign spokeswoman Sarah Bascom. “This ad has been proven to be true time and time again, and not a single television station has removed it. They obviously know that this addition, which is supposed to make them billionaires by selling marijuana, is not going to sit well with voters. The truth hurts.”

Read Keep Florida Clean’s full response letter below: