Florida’s battle over marijuana legalization has taken a startling turn.

A statewide grand jury concluded that $10 million connected to a Medicaid settlement was “misappropriated” after the money was diverted to the Hope Florida Foundation and ultimately used for political activities—including the campaign against Florida’s 2024 marijuana legalization initiative.

Although the grand jury found insufficient evidence to criminally charge anyone, its report raises serious questions about government transparency, political spending and whether public money helped influence the outcome of Amendment 3.

For Florida cannabis advocates, this controversy is about more than one election. It is about whether voters were given a fair opportunity to decide marijuana policy without the machinery of state government being used to tip the scale.

What did the Florida grand jury find?

The controversy began with a $67 million settlement involving Centene Corporation and alleged prescription-drug overbilling connected to Florida’s Medicaid system.

According to the grand jury report obtained by CBS News Miami, the entire settlement represented money owed to Florida taxpayers. However, only $57 million was directed back to the state. The remaining $10 million went to the Hope Florida Foundation, a nonprofit associated with an initiative created by Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis.

The grand jury rejected the claim that the $10 million was an additional charitable “bonus” separate from the state’s settlement.

Instead, jurors concluded that it was taxpayer money and should have been handled accordingly.

The report described the transfer as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities.” It also found that the money should have been deposited into state accounts and subjected to the Legislature’s normal appropriation and oversight process.

Importantly, the grand jury did not return criminal charges. Its report said investigators could not establish who made the original decision to send the money to Hope Florida, noting that witnesses either denied responsibility or said they could not remember.

That distinction matters: the report found that money was misappropriated, but it did not determine that any named official was criminally responsible.

How did Medicaid settlement money reach anti-marijuana political groups?

The path taken by the money is the heart of the controversy.

After receiving the $10 million, the Hope Florida Foundation awarded two separate $5 million grants to Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society from Drugs.

Those organizations then transferred most of the money to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee controlled by James Uthmeier. At the time, Uthmeier was Gov. Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff. He later became Florida attorney general.

According to the grand jury’s financial analysis:

• Secure Florida’s Future transferred $3.75 million to Keep Florida Clean.
• Save Our Society from Drugs transferred $4.75 million to the same committee.
• Keep Florida Clean subsequently sent $7 million to the Republican Party of Florida.
• Another $1.23 million went to the Florida Freedom Fund, another committee chaired by Uthmeier.

Keep Florida Clean played a central role in the campaign opposing Amendment 3, the 2024 constitutional proposal that would have legalized adult marijuana possession and sales through licensed medical marijuana businesses.

The grand jury also found that the original grant applications stated the money would not be used for political purposes. Nevertheless, most of it was transferred to political committees shortly after the grants were approved.

What was Florida Amendment 3?

Amendment 3 would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess and purchase marijuana for personal use from licensed businesses in Florida.

The proposal received approximately 56 percent of the vote in November 2024. That would represent a convincing victory in an ordinary election, but Florida requires constitutional amendments to receive at least 60 percent support.

Amendment 3 therefore failed despite earning support from a clear majority of voters.

Gov. DeSantis and his allies campaigned aggressively against the proposal. Arguments against it focused on public consumption, odor, corporate control of the proposed market and the amendment’s lack of home cultivation provisions.

Cannabis advocates countered that many of those issues could have been addressed through regulations and implementing legislation after the amendment passed.

The newly disclosed grand jury findings now add another major question: How much did political activity supported by diverted settlement money affect a campaign that fell only a few percentage points short of passage?

The report cannot tell us how individual Floridians would have voted without that spending. It does, however, make transparency surrounding the opposition campaign a matter of legitimate public concern.

Florida Democrats demand accountability

Florida Democratic leaders quickly seized upon the grand jury’s findings.

Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried called the episode “blatant corruption.” Democratic candidates Angie Nixon, Jose Javier Rodriguez and David Jolly also called for further investigations, resignations or professional complaints against officials connected to the transfer.

Democrats argue that money arising from a healthcare settlement—money associated with alleged overbilling of a program serving lower-income children—was moved through a nonprofit structure before reaching political committees fighting marijuana legalization.

Republican officials dispute that characterization.

DeSantis has maintained that the settlement was legal and appropriate, while describing the investigation as an attempt to smear his wife and her Hope Florida initiative. Uthmeier called the investigation politically motivated and emphasized that the grand jury did not find probable cause to criminally prosecute anyone.

Former Florida Attorney General and current U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody has also disputed media characterizations of the settlement.

According to the report, Moody knew about the proposed $10 million transfer to Hope Florida and authorized her chief deputy to sign the settlement. However, the grand jury did not establish that Moody knew the money would later be transferred to political committees.

Why no one was criminally charged

The absence of criminal charges does not mean the grand jury approved of what happened.

The report plainly states that the money was misappropriated and used for partisan political purposes without sufficient transparency. But identifying a problematic transfer is not the same as proving beyond a reasonable doubt that a particular person committed a crime.

Jurors said no witness accepted responsibility for the original decision. They also noted that many participants were attorneys who said they acted based on legal advice, creating an additional obstacle to prosecution.

In other words, the grand jury said it could follow the money but could not prove who possessed the necessary criminal intent or ultimate responsibility for sending it down that path.

That leaves Floridians with an uncomfortable situation: a finding that $10 million in taxpayer money was misused, but no person being held criminally accountable for that misuse.

What the grand jury wants Florida lawmakers to change

The grand jury recommended that the Florida Legislature close the gaps that allowed the transfer to occur.

Its recommendations include:

• Requiring money received by the state to be deposited into the state’s General Revenue Fund.
• Establishing meaningful consequences for officials who bypass that requirement.
• Creating clearer rules governing how nonprofits and similar organizations may use public funds.
• Requiring stronger tracking, monitoring and disclosure of public money transferred to outside groups.

These are practical proposals regardless of party affiliation or personal views on marijuana.

Florida voters should be able to see where public money comes from, where it goes and who authorizes its use. Settlement funds should not be able to pass through loosely supervised organizations before reappearing in political campaigns.

Why this matters to Florida’s cannabis community

Cannabis policy in Florida has never been fought on a level playing field.

Marijuana remains illegal for adult use despite majority support for legalization in 2024. Patients continue to navigate a tightly controlled medical marijuana system, adults remain vulnerable to criminal penalties, and lawmakers retain considerable power over what cannabis reforms Floridians may realistically pursue.

There is nothing improper about campaigning against marijuana legalization. Opponents have the same right as supporters to organize, raise money and attempt to persuade voters.

The problem arises when money connected to a public Medicaid settlement is allegedly redirected into that political fight without ordinary legislative approval or transparent public accounting.

That is not simply a cannabis issue. It is a democratic accountability issue.

Whether someone supported or opposed Amendment 3, Floridians should agree on one basic principle: taxpayer money should not secretly finance political campaigns.

Could marijuana legalization return to the Florida ballot?

The failure of Amendment 3 did not end the push for adult-use marijuana legalization.

A renewed adult-use marijuana initiative has been filed for Florida’s 2028 general election, although organizers face stricter petition rules and a difficult path back to the ballot.

Any future legalization campaign will once again need to reach Florida’s unusually high 60 percent threshold. Advocates will also have to prepare for organized political opposition and continued debate over market structure, home cultivation, criminal justice reform and public-use regulations.

The Hope Florida report will likely remain part of that debate. It has given cannabis reform supporters a powerful argument that voters deserve complete transparency about who is financing political campaigns—and whether public resources are being used behind the scenes.

The bottom line

A Florida grand jury found that $10 million from a Medicaid-related settlement was misappropriated, passed through the Hope Florida Foundation and largely redirected to political committees involved in opposing marijuana legalization.

The jury did not charge anyone with a crime because it could not prove who made the original decision or establish individual criminal responsibility. DeSantis, Uthmeier and other officials have denied wrongdoing and defended the settlement.

Those facts should be presented together.

But the central finding remains deeply troubling: money the grand jury considered taxpayer property was used for partisan political purposes without the transparency and legislative oversight Floridians should expect.

Marijuana legalization can—and should—be debated honestly. Campaigns may argue over regulation, public health, criminal justice, business interests and personal freedom. What should never be up for debate is whether taxpayer money can be quietly routed into one side’s political campaign.

Florida voters deserved a fair fight over Amendment 3. They also deserve a full accounting of how $10 million connected to healthcare for vulnerable children ended up helping finance the campaign against it.

For additional reporting and continuing coverage, read the original Marijuana Moment article and CBS News Miami’s investigation and summary of the grand jury report.

This article is for news and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.