BREAKING: DeSantis Vetoes Florida Hemp-Ban Bill

Governor DeSantis vetoed Florida Senate Bill 1698 today, saving the state’s hemp industry from imminent demise. We addressed this bill in a previous post and the intensive lobbying by corporate marijuana interests, in conjunction with old-school cannabis prohibitionists, to get it passed.

In his letter vetoing SB 1698, which you can read below, Governor DeSantis stated that “small businesses are the cornerstone of Florida’s economy” and that bill would “impose debilitating regulatory burdens on small businesses and almost certainly fail to achieve its purposes. Senate Bill 1698 would introduce dramatic disruption and harm to many small retail and and manufacturing businesses in Florida- businesses that have emerged due to recent legislation paving the way for commercial use of hemp.” The Governor goes on to encourage lawmakers to revisit this issue in the next session and to address “Quality control”, “Labeling, Marketing, and Packaging”, and “Retail Sales”, issues which are remarkably similar to the Three Pillars Approach I and other sensible hemp industry stakeholders have been advocating. 

Today’s veto ensures consumers can continue to obtain hemp products they want and need and allows the small businesses that make up the hemp industry to stay alive. Although Governor DeSantis has not had the best record on cannabis advocacy, today’s action shows he is willing to support cannabis and Florida’s small hemp businesses that produce, manufacture, and distribute it. 

The fight is not over and the days ahead will see efforts to ensure that Florida lawmakers do the right thing during the state’s next legislative session. Please let your representatives know that you support hemp. Please also support the Florida Healthy Alternatives Association, which works tirelessly on this issue. 

Here is the veto:

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June 7, 2024

Rod Kight is an international cannabis lawyer. He represents businesses throughout the cannabis industry. Additionally, Rod speaks at cannabis conferences, drafts and presents legislation to foreign governments, is regularly quoted on cannabis matters in the media, and is the editor of the Kight on Cannabis legal blog, which discusses legal issues affecting the cannabis industry. You can contact him by clicking here.