John SchroyerTrulieve Cannabis Corp. (CSE: TRUL) (OTCQX: TCNNF) has invested more than $60 million into this year’s recreational marijuana legalization campaign in its home state of Florida, and on Tuesday, CEO Kim Rivers used the company’s quarterly earnings call to give the initiative one more “shameless plug.”
Rivers said that Florida voters and cannabis enthusiasts can pick up yard signs and bumper stickers free of charge at any Trulieve dispensary in the Sunshine State to promote Amendment 3, the ballot question Trulieve is hoping will pass in November. The measure needs to pass with more than 60% of voter support to reach the super-majority threshold required for amendments to the state constitution.
“This is a shameless plug as well for anyone in the state of Florida, and we’re encouraging our partners to do the same,” Rivers said of the ballot initiative, repeatedly pushing the #Yeson3 campaign throughout the call. “There’s an extremely, extraordinarily high ROI on those dollars.”
The recreational market in Florida, Rivers said, has the potential to be worth $6 billion, presenting a “tremendous opportunity.”
“With over 650 medical dispensaries today, expansion to include adult use would represent the largest conversion in legal cannabis history,” Rivers said.
Trulieve has been steadily expanding across much of the U.S. for years now, and it doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon. The company still plans to open another 25 dispensaries this calendar year, including some additional shops in Florida, where the company already has 143 cannabis stores, according to the company website. That figure makes it the industry leader in the state, with the closest competitor, MUV, operating just 77 dispensaries, according to statistics from the Florida Department of Health.
Legalization in Florida could be key to Trulieve’s future, Rivers implied, and she said the company will be doing even more to ramp up the political pressure before November, including selling #Yeson3 branded pre-rolls and eighths of marijuana flower.
“We plan additional product launches as we approach the election, with a portion of proceeds going to support the campaign,” Rivers said. “We are taking every available opportunity to feature #YesOn3 information at our store, grand openings, physician education events, hiring events and community events.”
Rivers referenced a recent poll conducted in Florida that found zero opposition to adult-use legalization among voters aged 18-29, and 82% support among voters aged 30-39. She added that the campaign has been endorsed by more than 70 public figures and institutions, including politicians, physicians, labor unions, law enforcement officials and celebrities.
And of course, Trulieve has not been sitting still while the campaign has progressed.
“Following passage of the initiative, we plan to quickly ramp idle production capacity and prepare our retail network for adult-use sales,” Rivers told analysts on the call. “We fully expect to expand our market-leading position when adult-use sales launch.”
