This billionaire is spending millions to defeat recreational weed in Florida

Ken Griffin, the founder and CEO of the hedge fund Citadel.

Ken Griffin is pouring millions of dollars into an effort to block recreational weed from becoming legalized in Florida.

In a Friday op-ed for the Miami Herald, the billionaire founder of Citadel, a hedge fund, wrote that he had pledged $20 million to various Florida politicians and an effort to block Amendment 3 from being passed. The Herald clarified in a later article that $12 million would be pledged to defeat Amendment 3, with the rest of the funds going to local candidates.

“Passage of Amendment 3 would create a monopoly for large marijuana dispensaries and permit pot use in public and private areas throughout Florida,” Griffin, who lives in Miami, wrote. “That will help no one other than special interests — and it will hurt us all, especially through more dangerous roads, a higher risk of addiction among our youth, and an increase in crime.”

Griffin wrote that “skyrocketing crime, suffering among children,” and “a decline in the quality of life in Florida’s vibrant neighborhoods” would be inevitable if Amendment 3 passed, citing similar initiatives in California, Colorado, and New York that he called “mistakes.”

A 2022 study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs found the legalization of recreational marijuana was linked to an increase in traffic crashes and fatalities. However, research from the University of Colorado Boulder found that legalized recreational cannabis did not correlate with an increase in substance-use disorders or use of other drugs among adults and found no link to increases in cognitive, psychological, social, relationship, or financial problems. Meta-analyses comparing the results of multiple studies regarding the impact of marijuana legalization on crime rates are generally inconclusive.

“With the best educational opportunities in the nation and a flourishing economy, Florida is a shining example of how good governance improves people’s lives, and I am thankful to all Floridians for making this possible,” Griffin said in a statement to B-17.

He added: “I have lived the nightmare of misguided politicians in other states whose policies are destroying jobs, fostering crime, ravaging schools, and damaging communities. My dream is for all Floridians to continue to have even more opportunities, and I am committed to supporting policies and principles that will further elevate Florida as the greatest place to live, work, and raise a family in America.”

Griffin relocated Citadel from Chicago to Miami in 2022. This summer, he announced his intention to expand Citadel’s office to include two more floors in its planned 55-story tower in the city.

While he has been a prolific political donor for years — spending hundreds of millions of dollars in support of various causes and candidates (largely Republican, according to the campaign-finance watchdog OpenSecrets) — it appears with Citadel’s relocation to Miami, Griffin is getting more closely involved in Florida-specific initiatives.

Florida’s Amendment 3 is sponsored by the political committee Smart & Safe Florida. Representatives for the organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but the group has, in posts on social media, rejected some of what Griffin said in his op-ed.

“A major benefit of marijuana legalization? The DECREASE in teen usage. That’s right,” Smart & Safe Florida wrote in a Sunday post on X, linking to an article by U.S. News and World Report. “Study after study has found states that embraced legal regulation vs. prohibition experienced a drop in teenage marijuana usage and an increase in college enrollment.”

Polling released this week by Florida Phoenix indicated the measure would likely pass, with it receiving 64% voter support.