Ron DeSantis made crushing Florida's recreational marijuana movement his personal crusade.
He spent millions in taxpayer dollars fighting it and attacked the company behind it as a foreign threat to Florida families.
And Ron DeSantis attacked the marijuana company that Donald Trump just rewarded.
Trump Hands Victory to Company DeSantis Tried to Destroy
President Trump signed an executive order to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, completing the process Joe Biden started but never finished.
Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to "take all necessary steps to complete the rulemaking process" moving marijuana into the same category as ketamine and anabolic steroids.¹
The signing ceremony included a guest DeSantis won't be happy about: Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve, the Florida marijuana company DeSantis spent the last year viciously attacking.²
"Trulieve is grateful for the decisive action taken by the Administration that acknowledges the medical benefits of cannabis," Rivers said in a statement after standing in the Oval Office watching Trump sign the order.³
DeSantis called Trulieve a Canadian company and claimed the firm wanted to create a marijuana monopoly in Florida.⁴
He blasted them at press conferences across the state while opponents warned Amendment 3 would turn Florida into "an east coast version of California."⁵
The governor's crusade worked — barely. Amendment 3 got 56% support but needed 60% to pass.⁶
DeSantis Fighting Trump's Marijuana Policy in Real Time
DeSantis isn't backing down despite Trump's executive order validating everything Trulieve stands for.
Trulieve already committed $24.5 million toward putting a similar measure on Florida's 2026 ballot.⁷
DeSantis' administration is contesting more than 200,000 petition signatures, claiming Smart and Safe Florida didn't provide voters with the full text of the proposal.⁸
A judge sided with DeSantis, but the group sued again to force state election officials to move the process forward anyway.⁹
The measure needs 880,000 valid signatures by February 1 and Florida Supreme Court approval to appear on the November 2026 ballot.¹⁰
Secretary of State Cord Byrd submitted the proposal to Attorney General James Uthmeier for review after Smart and Safe Florida's latest lawsuit.¹¹
During the 2024 campaign against Amendment 3, DeSantis warned Florida would "start to smell like marijuana in our cities and towns" and claimed it would "reduce the quality of life."¹²
He accused Trulieve of pushing the measure purely for profit, attacking Rivers personally even though she's a Florida resident who built the company from scratch.¹³
https://twitter.com/ReOpenChris/status/1978476231768027360?s=20
Trump Defies Republican Opposition to Help Patients in Pain
Trump moved forward despite 22 Republican senators urging him to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug.
Led by North Carolina Senator Ted Budd, the group included Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso, Senate Republican Conference Chair Tom Cotton, and former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.¹⁴
They warned Trump that rescheduling would "undermine your strong efforts to Make America Great Again" and claimed "the only winners from rescheduling will be bad actors such as Communist China, while Americans will be left paying the bill."¹⁵
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris and Rep. Pete Sessions led 24 House Republicans in a similar letter claiming reclassification would "send the wrong message to America's children, enable drug cartels, and make our roads more dangerous."¹⁶
Trump brushed aside the opposition and invoked patients suffering from cancer, seizures, and chronic pain who "begged" him to act.
"For decades this action has been requested by American patients suffering from extreme pain, incurable diseases, aggressive cancers, seizure disorders, neurological problems and more," Trump said at the signing.¹⁷
The reclassification doesn't legalize recreational marijuana federally but removes major research barriers and eliminates crushing tax burdens under Section 280E that prevent marijuana businesses from claiming standard deductions.¹⁸
Cannabis companies expect to save approximately $2.3 billion in taxes, money they can invest in expanding operations.¹⁹
https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/2001732404420268366?s=20
Trump made clear he personally won't use marijuana but respects Americans who need it for medical reasons.
"I don't want it. I'm not going to be taking it, but a lot of people do want it, a lot of people need it," Trump said.²⁰
DeSantis now finds himself fighting against a marijuana industry Trump just legitimized and blocking ballot measures backed by a company Trump invited to the White House.
The governor spent 2024 warning Floridians about the dangers of Amendment 3 while calling Trulieve greedy profiteers.
Now that same CEO stood next to Trump as he signed an executive order handing her company a massive financial windfall and federal validation.
DeSantis can keep fighting Florida's 2026 marijuana ballot measure, but he's battling Trump's agenda whether he admits it or not.
¹ "INCREASING MEDICAL MARIJUANA AND CANNABIDIOL RESEARCH," The White House, December 18, 2025.
² Bart Jansen, "Trump orders less dangerous federal classification for marijuana," USA TODAY, December 18, 2025.
³ Gray Rohrer, "Trump marijuana order comes amid DeSantis' fight against legal pot," Florida USA TODAY Network, December 22, 2025.
⁴ Dara Kam, "Recreational marijuana Amendment 3 backers, DeSantis square off," CBS Miami, October 31, 2024.
⁵ "Florida Amendment 3, Marijuana Legalization Initiative (2024)," Ballotpedia.
⁶ "Florida's Amendment 3 on recreational marijuana is rejected by voters," CBS Miami, November 6, 2024.
⁷ Gray Rohrer, "Trump marijuana order comes amid DeSantis' fight against legal pot," Florida USA TODAY Network, December 22, 2025.
⁸ – ¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Gray Rohrer, "Trump marijuana order comes amid DeSantis' fight against legal pot," Florida USA TODAY Network, December 22, 2025.
¹³ Dara Kam, "Recreational marijuana Amendment 3 backers, DeSantis square off," CBS Miami, October 31, 2024.
¹⁴ "Marijuana reclassification: GOP senators balk at Trump's plan to relax rules," The Hill, December 18, 2025.
¹⁵ "22 Republicans Reject Donald Trump's Marijuana Reclassification Plan," Newsweek, December 18, 2025.
¹⁶ "House Republicans urge Trump against reclassifying marijuana," Fox News, December 17, 2025.
¹⁷ Bart Jansen, "Trump orders less dangerous federal classification for marijuana," USA TODAY, December 18, 2025.
¹⁸ "Trump signs executive order expediting marijuana reclassification," CNN Politics, December 18, 2025.
¹⁹ "Marijuana reclassification: GOP senators balk at Trump's plan to relax rules," The Hill, December 18, 2025.
²⁰ "Trump Makes Blunt Remarks on Conservative Opposition to Weed," The Daily Signal, December 19, 2025.
