After Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that would severely limit and regulate their industry, hemp executives across the state pledged $5 million in donations to the Republican Party of Florida, according to WhatsApp messages reviewed by CBS News Miami. "We know nothing in life is free and neither was this veto," explained an introductory post on the WhatsApp message group known as Save Florida Hemp.
"We are currently seen as DeSantis's allies to defeat the recreational ballot initiative," announced the post, which was published on June 27, less than three weeks after DeSantis vetoed Senate Bill 1698. "Our lobby team made promises to rally some serious funding to stand with him on this. He chose Hemp as his champion and now we've got to deliver."
Save Florida Hemp has more than a thousand members, including major labs and hemp manufacturers as well as small shops that sell unregulated cannabis products, such as Delta 8 and Delta 9.
The introductory message provides a bank routing number for the Republican Party of Florida. Several messages claim the Governor's Office was closely monitoring the account to see which individuals and businesses were donating funds.
Read more at cbsnews.com