Matt Gaetz helped launch Florida marijuana green rush Allies scored big orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
TALLAHASSEE Ahead of a likely bid to try and unseat Gov. Ron DeSantis, a new spotlight is focused on Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried’s friendship with embattled Rep. Matt Gaetz and their role lobbying for the state’s marijuana industry.
Before running for Agriculture Commission in 2018, Fried was a prominent marijuana lobbyist who helped boost Florida’s nascent marijuana industry. It was a policy issue that created a long-time bipartisan relationship with Gaetz, who has positioned himself as one of the leading pro-pot Republicans in the country a reputation that goes back as far as 2014 when Gaetz, then-state lawmaker, sponsored a measure that legalized low-THC cannabis for medical use under a licensing scheme carried out by state regulators.
By Vivian KaneMay 3rd, 2021, 2:31 pm
The Justice Department’s probe into Matt Gaetz continues to spiral. What began as an investigation into a low-level Florida official’s alleged criminal activity spurred the probe into allegations that Gaetz may have trafficked and paid an underage girl for sex. And now it’s expanded into an inquiry involving possible attempts to exploit the medical marijuana industry for personal gain.
In 2014, Gaetz co-sponsored Florida’s first statewide measure allowing for medical marijuana use. Before we throw him a parade, it should be noted that his bill–which only authorized the use of a high-CBD/low-THC non-smokable marijuana extract for patients with cancer or severe neurological conditions–was presented as a much more restrictive alternative to a ballot measure heading to the polls that same year that would have legalized broader medical marijuana use. A few months after Gaetz’s bill was signed into law, the ballot measure ended up faili
Gaetz Probe Shifts Toward Larger Review Of Public Corruption
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
The investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) continues to evolve as federal authorities find more information to expand their case. Over the last several weeks, the case, which began as an investigation into sex trafficking, has expanded to an investigative probe into medical marijuana legislation passed in Florida a few years prior.
The news outlet reports that Gaetz, Dr. Jason Pirozzolo, and Halsey Beshears have quite a few common interests but the most significant is the Sunshine State s $1.2 billion medical marijuana industry. Now his case, which focused on allegations of sex trafficking a minor, has shifted to one that focuses on a larger review of public corruption.
Investigators are now scrutinizing Rep. Matt Gaetz´s connections to the medical marijuana sector, including whether Pirozzolo and others sought to influence his legislation.