Post by nuevowavo on Jul 12, 2024 13:50:53 GMT -5
A social media group chat called “Save Florida Hemp” created last month reveals frantic attempts by leaders in the hemp industry to raise millions of dollars for the Republican Party of Florida shortly after Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed the hemp bill that would have killed the industry.
In the WhatsApp chat, hemp executives informed business owners, distributors and other participants in the industry on June 25 that they had met with key leaders in the Republican Party of Florida and that they must collectively raise $2 million in 72 hours and another $3 million over six months in order to stay afloat. The money was to be wired directly to the party’s bank account, which was included in the chat.
“We just had a very serious meeting with Evan, Bill, Jeff Aaron — The chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, and the chief litigator for the governor himself,” wrote a message repeatedly sent by executives under nicknames like “King Bubs” and “Zombi Dallas” to the chat. “We know nothing in life is free and neither was this veto. We are currently seen as Desantis’ allies to defeat the recreational ballot initiative. 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.”
In the WhatsApp chat, hemp executives informed business owners, distributors and other participants in the industry on June 25 that they had met with key leaders in the Republican Party of Florida and that they must collectively raise $2 million in 72 hours and another $3 million over six months in order to stay afloat. The money was to be wired directly to the party’s bank account, which was included in the chat.
“We just had a very serious meeting with Evan, Bill, Jeff Aaron — The chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, executive director of the Republican Party of Florida, and the chief litigator for the governor himself,” wrote a message repeatedly sent by executives under nicknames like “King Bubs” and “Zombi Dallas” to the chat. “We know nothing in life is free and neither was this veto. We are currently seen as Desantis’ allies to defeat the recreational ballot initiative. 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.”
Participants in the conversation, which was reviewed by the South Florida Sun Sentinel, included executives from Arvida Labs, the South Florida-based development company for Mellow Fellow, and Honest PP&D, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of hemp products. Leaders kept a running tally of donations, with top donations of $250,000 from both Mellow Fellow and Honest PP&D. Members were instructed to wire money to the Republican Party with “hemp stakeholder” in the description....
