James McKee on Amendment 3's Failed Passage – 'Florida still has a significant market'

Foley & Lardner LLP partner James McKee’s assessment of the future of the cannabis industry in Florida following the failed passage of Amendment 3, a constitutional amendment that would have legalized recreational use of marijuana for adults, appeared across media outlets, including CBS News Miami, NBC 6 South Florida, NPR/WUSF, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida Sun Sentinel, and WMNF 88.5 FM.

McKee highlighted that even without a recreational program, Florida still has a “significant market.”

“I think where there might be some concern is, there was excitement about recreational marijuana passing, so there were companies that invested a fair amount of capital with the expectation” that the proposal would pass, McKee explained, noting that Amendment 3’s failure could negatively impact Florida operators who were planning on its passage.

“Were there entities getting overbuilt a bit, or expended more capital than they otherwise would have, but for the fact that the recreational amendment was on the market?” McKee asked. “You think about things like potential oversupply, if somebody built out facilities, that might be more than is needed just to service the medical marijuana market.”

“But I do think we’re going to see the registry continue to grow,” he added, referencing Florida’s list of medical marijuana patients, which is the largest in the nation.