Colorado Governor Hits Back At DeSantis Over Claims Marijuana Legalization Is Failing

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) went on a bit of a social media tirade on
Wednesday, taking aim at a campaign working to put a marijuana legalization
initiative on the state’s 2026 ballot and dismissing the idea that the
reform could generate significant tax revenue by pointing to Colorado’s
experience with cannabis.

The Democratic governor of Colorado, Jared Polis, took notice and responded
in kind.

After DeSantis claimed that legalizing marijuana in Colorado has resulted
in “an increase in the black market” since voters approved the reform
there—while also asserting that tax revenue from cannabis has “fallen
dramatically”—Polis hit back.

“Colorado has collected over $3B in marijuana tax revenue to pave roads,
build schools, rec centers and so much more, all while successfully
cracking down on the underground market,” he said.

Colorado has collected over $3B in marijuana tax revenue to pave roads,
build schools, rec centers and so much more, all while successfully
cracking down on the underground market. Oh, and we didn't use $50M in
taxpayer dollars to block access to freedom. But you do you.
https://t.co/DqPVk8PpTu

— Jared Polis (@jaredpolis) November 12, 2025

“Oh, and we didn’t use $50M in taxpayer dollars to block access to freedom.
But you do you,” Polis added, referencing the DeSantis administration’s
allegedly illegal diversion of Medicare funds to amplify anti-legalization
messaging ahead of a vote on a legalization initiative on Florida’s 2024
ballot.

Meanwhile, the Florida governor additionally said that a pending 2026
legalization measure in his state is as an attempt to benefit corporate
cannabis companies that he said is “vulnerable” to being invalidated by the
state Supreme Court.

Reacting to an X post about a recent poll showing that nine in 10 Florida
voters believe they should have the right to decide on cannabis reform, the
governor said it’s “the corporate weed oligarchy telling you they won’t
take ‘no’ for an answer.”

That’s a reference to the fact that the campaign is making another attempt
after a majority of Floridians voted in favor of a legalization proposal at
the ballot last year that nonetheless failed to reach a 60 percent
threshold to pass a constitutional amendment.

It’s the corporate weed oligarchy telling you they won’t take “no” for an
answer. https://t.co/CZFXwvtEeD

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 12, 2025

DeSantis also replied to a post about perceived legal weaknesses in an
abortion rights initiative that made the 2024 ballot, stating that there
were similar concerns with the marijuana measure, known as Amendment 3. He
claimed the proposal “granted total immunity from civil liability to big
weed companies, yet the ballot summary (which is what the voter sees on the
ballot) completely omitted that.”

*“*Should have been nixed by the Court on that ground alone,” he said.

And Amendment 3 — the text of the amendment (which is not on the ballot)
granted total immunity from civil liability to big weed companies, yet the
ballot summary (which is what the voter sees on the ballot) completely
omitted that.

Should have been nixed by the Court on that… https://t.co/umEIRBBZZW

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 12, 2025

“The ballot language would still have to pass Supreme Court review—the way
it is written is vulnerable to challenge on multiple fronts,” he said in
another post on Wednesday.

“Plus, there is an ongoing investigation into petition fraud and they might
not have enough verified petitions,” the governor said.

The ballot language would still have to pass Supreme Court review — the way
it is written is vulnerable to challenge on multiple fronts.

Plus, there is an ongoing investigation into petition fraud and they might
not have enough verified petitions. https://t.co/T0Yw95Zs7q

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 12, 2025

DeSantis on Thursday also replied to a user who posited that the alcohol
lobby is influencing the administration’s anti-marijuana agenda.

“I wouldn’t know but I know [the industry’s contributions] would be a small
fraction of the $150 million that the corporate marijuana lobby poured into
the state to try to amend the state’s constitution,” he said.

I wouldn’t know but I know it would be a small fraction of the $150 million
that the corporate marijuana lobby poured into the state to try to amend
the state’s constitution. https://t.co/YUoIvODLFY

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 12, 2025

There’s significant uncertainty about the prospects of the campaign Smart &
Safe Florida’s 2026 legalization initiative, which is currently pending a
legal and fiscal review before potentially securing ballot placement.

DeSantis’s comments about an “ongoing investigation into petition fraud” is
one of the complicating factors, with the Florida Department of Law
Enforcement (FDLE) taking steps over recent months to prosecute individuals
suspected of circulating “fraudulent petitions” for the cannabis measure.

Meanwhile, Smart & Safe Florida recently filed a lawsuit with the state
Supreme Court, alleging that officials are violating election laws by stalling
a required review process for the measure without justification.

With 662,543 signatures verified by the secretary of state’s office so far,
that’s more than triple the 220,016 required to prompt the review. The
campaign reached that initial threshold over the summer and notified state
officials, but it says it received no response.

Attorneys for the campaign also noted that Smart & Safe Florida is involved
in other litigation related to allegations that the state is taking
“unlawful” steps to force the invalidation of about 200,000 voter signatures it
has submitted. Officials claim the signatures are void because the
petitions voters signed didn’t include the full text of the initiative.

Meanwhile, DeSantis’s X post about Colorado’s marijuana legalization law
that drew the retort from Polis came in response to a user who pointed out
the potential tax revenue benefits of enacting a system of regulated
cannabis sales.

As he’s done in the past, the governor used the opportunity to take a swipe
at Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize adult-use cannabis. He
argued that marijuana tax dollars have “fallen dramatically in recent
years—largely because imposing taxes makes the black market marijuana more
economical. Hence, why states like CO have seen an increase in the black
market, not an elimination of it.”

Well, that has not been the experience in Colorado. The tax revenue from
marijuana sales has fallen dramatically in recent years — largely because
imposing taxes makes the black market marijuana more economical.

Hence, why states like CO have seen an increase in the black…
https://t.co/L28FnIOMo4

— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) November 12, 2025

While tax revenue has leveled out in Colorado in recent years as the market
matured and other states opted to legalize, thereby reducing sales from
out-of-state visitors, the point about the illicit market the governor is
making has been challenged by studies and economic analyses.

To be sure, it’s well-understood that enacting legalization doesn’t fully
eliminate the illicit market—and states have had varying degrees of success
to that end—but research indicates that Colorado has been among the most
effective at transitioning people to the legal marketplace.

For example, one report from Leafly and Whitney Economics that was
published in 2022 found that nearly all (99 percent) recreational marijuana
sales in Colorado now take place at licensed retailers.

Last year, DeSantis also said that most people in Colorado regret
legalizing marijuana—despite polling results showing otherwise.

In response to DeSantis’s attacks on his state’s cannabis program, Colorado
Gov. Jared Polis (D) said last year that he’d be “happy” to explain the
advantages of legalization if his Florida counterpart needed an education
on the issue.

DeSantis’s role in trying to influence the vote on marijuana reform has
been the subject of scrutiny at the state and federal level.

In March, for example, two Democratic members of Congress representing
Florida asked the federal government to investigate what they described as
“potentially unlawful diversion” of millions in state Medicaid funds via a
group with ties to the governor. The money was used to fight against a
citizen ballot initiative, vehemently opposed by DeSantis, that would have
legalized marijuana for adults.

The lawmakers’ letter followed allegations that a $10 million donation from
a state legal settlement was improperly made to the Hope Florida
Foundation, which later sent the money to two political nonprofits, which
in turn sent $8.5 million to a campaign opposing Amendment 3.

Meanwhile, in the background of the ongoing litigation and investigations
concerning the 2026 cannabis initiative, a federal judge in August
delivered a win to Smart & Safe Florida—granting “complete relief” from
provisions of a law the governor signed to impose other serious
restrictions on signature gathering.

While the law DeSantis signed in May wasn’t directly targeted at the
cannabis initiative, there’s been concern among supporters that it could
jeopardize an already complex and costly process to collect enough
signatures to make the ballot. That’s because it would block non-residents
and non-citizens from collecting signatures for ballot measures.

The governor said in February that the newest marijuana legalization
measure is in “big time trouble” with the state Supreme Court, predicting
it will be blocked from going before voters next year.

“There’s a lot of different perspectives on on marijuana,” DeSantis said.
“It should not be in our Constitution. If you feel strongly about it, you
have elections for the legislature. Go back candidates that you believe
will be able to deliver what your vision is on that.”

“But when you put these things in the Constitution—and I think, I mean, the
way they wrote, there’s all kinds of things going on in here. I think it’s
going to have big time trouble getting through the Florida Supreme Court,”
he said.

The latest initiative was filed with the secretary of state’s office just
months after the initial version failed during the November 2024
election—despite an endorsement from President Donald Trump.

Smart & Safe Florida is hoping the revised version will succeed in 2026.
The campaign—which in the last election cycle received tens of millions of
dollars from cannabis industry stakeholders, principally the multi-state
operator Trulieve—incorporated certain changes into the new version that
seem responsive to criticism opponents raised during the 2024 push.

For example, it now specifically states that the “smoking and vaping of
marijuana in any public place is prohibited.”Another section asserts that
the legislature would need to approve rules dealing with the “regulation of
the time, place, and manner of the public consumption of marijuana.”

Last year, the governor accurately predicted that the 2024 cannabis measure
from the campaign would survive a legal challenge from the state attorney
general. It’s not entirely clear why he feels this version would face a
different outcome.

While there’s uncertainty around how the state’s highest court will
navigate the measure, a poll released in February showed overwhelming
bipartisan voter support for the reform—with 67 percent of Florida voters
backing legalization, including 82 percent of Democrats, 66 percent of
independents and 55 percent of Republicans.


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Meanwhile, a pro-legalization GOP state lawmaker recently filed a bill to
amend state law to codify that the public use of marijuana is prohibited.

Rep. Alex Andrade (R), the sponsor, said earlier this year that embracing
cannabis reform is a way for the Republican party to secure more votes from
young people.

Separately, Florida medical marijuana officials are actively revoking the
registrations of patients and caregivers with drug-related criminal records.
The policy is part of broad budget legislation signed into law earlier this
year by DeSantis. The provisions in question direct the state Department of
Health (DOH) to cancel registrations of medical marijuana patients and
caregivers if they’re convicted of—or plead guilty or no contest
to—criminal drug charges.

The post Colorado Governor Hits Back At DeSantis Over Claims Marijuana
Legalization Is Failing appeared first on Marijuana Moment.