‘Keep fighting’: Maddox coordinated with Burnette in medical marijuana vote that benefited Trulieve

A recently disclosed text exchange with real estate mogul J.T. Burnette shows former Tallahassee Commissioner Scott Maddox boasting that he saved a temporary ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, a move that gave Trulieve an edge locally.

That and several other text messages from 2014 to 2018 point to a larger role by Burnette in the formation of the company that would become Trulieve than previously reported — telling Maddox how much was needed to invest in the company and that he’d be willing to “talk to anyone” to help Maddox out.

Trulieve, the medical marijuana company run by Burnette’s spouse, Kim Rivers, had opened the state’s first dispensary in Tallahassee six months earlier – just a few months before rival Surterra opened its first local dispensary.