A Florida congressional candidate is publicly acknowledging his own cannabis use while demanding accountability over $8.5 million in taxpayer-derived funds that ultimately went to a political committee created to fight marijuana legalization.
Mark Davis, a no-party-affiliation candidate for Florida’s 16th Congressional District, made the comments Thursday following the disclosure of a state grand jury report finding that $10 million was “misappropriated” after being diverted from a Medicaid settlement to the Hope Florida Foundation. Davis is officially qualified for the November election, according to the Florida Division of Elections.
“I know a lot of you Floridians use cannabis. And I do too,” Davis said in a post on X. “And I’m not fucking quiet about it.”
Davis then turned his attention to the newly disclosed grand jury findings, arguing that money connected to health care for children was instead used to influence the 2024 election.
“We all saw the fucking news. DeSantis ripped us off,” Davis said. “$8.5 million ended up being used to fight marijuana legalization when a majority of Florida voters wanted it legalized.”
The grand jury found that $10 million from a $67 million settlement with health care company Centene was directed to the Hope Florida Foundation. The money was subsequently split between Secure Florida’s Future and Save Our Society From Drugs, which transferred a combined $8.5 million to Keep Florida Clean, a political committee chaired at the time by James Uthmeier, who was Governor Ron DeSantis’ chief of staff and is now Florida attorney general.
The grand jury described the transfer of the $10 million as part of a “sophisticated scheme to fund political activities” and concluded that taxpayer money had been misused. However, jurors said there was insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges because investigators could not establish who made the decision to divert the money.
Davis said simply determining that the money had been misappropriated was not enough.
“I want the fucking money back,” he wrote. “Who is making them pay it back? Because saying the money was misappropriated and then everybody just moving on isn’t fucking good enough.”
Amendment 3, which would have legalized recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older, received 55.9% support in November 2024, representing nearly 6 million yes votes. It failed because Florida requires constitutional amendments to receive at least 60% approval.
Davis ended his post by calling on voters to demand accountability rather than vote strictly along party lines.
