Tag Archives: Florida

If you’re a kind and rational American, we’re guessing that every day since November 8th has been pretty rough for you, to say the least. But, alas, while much of the country remains divided between conservative and liberal, Republican and Democrat, red state and blue state, there might be one common desire amidst all of our differences—and that’s the legalization of marijuana.



A liberal state like California passing legislation to permit recreational weed is no big surprise, but what may surprise you is that some conservative states also passed similar laws that cut restrictions on marijuana last November.

This week, two separate investors independently announced plans to invest $200 million in canna-businesses. On Tuesday, a California real estate firm announced plans to invest $100 million into medical and recreational cannabis over the next year. On the same day, a wealthy Florida attorney and MMJ advocate announced plans to invest $100 million into medical marijuana.

The fight for a comprehensive medical marijuana program has been raging in Florida for years now, but the latest cannabis hullabaloo in the Sunshine State is a little less significant than securing access for patients who need medicine.

Amendment 2 won with 71% of the vote last November and Florida lawmakers are still arguing over how to best establish the state medical marijuana system.
The Florida legislative session ended on May 5th without elected officials establishing common ground on how to best regulate the state’s medical marijuana industry. Amended on the final day of Florida’s legislative session, the House modified H. B. 1397 to impose a restriction of 100 retail dispensaries for each of the state’s medical marijuana operators – while the Senate proposed 10.
Now, a special session is necessary.

As cannabis legalization gains more and more support across the United States, it is becoming more clear which demographics and which regions are still our “swing vote”.  The Southern United States, which include many faith based or Christian groups, may certainly be that.  During my career in cannabis, I have met many people from Texas, Alabama, Georgia, and even Tennessee and Kentucky who are working hard to pioneer cannabis law reform in their states.  In fact, a few years ago we found that over half of younger Christians back legalizing marijuana.

The Florida Department of Health ordered a local dispensary to stop selling a new whole-flower cannabis product intended for vaping, over concerns that users could easily smoke the pot instead. The state currently allows patients suffering from a number of qualifying medical conditions to use low-THC cannabis. Patients are allowed to vape the weed, but are prohibited from smoking it in any form.

Trulieve, one of the seven licensed marijuana vendors in the state, began selling the Entourage Multi Indica cup, a whole-flower product intended for vaping, via five dispensaries and home delivery last week.

Florida voters approved medical marijuana legislation by a landslide in November of last year, but since then, state lawmakers have done their best to restrict Floridians from actually smoking – by setting up a system that allows vaporizing cannabis but bans combustion. But as you probably know, there are plenty of vaporizers that use the same cannabis bud that we traditionally associate with smoking.

After the Florida legislature was unable to agree on a bill that would have expanded the state's medical marijuana program, canna-businesses have been left in legal grey area. Some businesses have been selling full-strength medical marijuana to registered patients, but some legal experts believe that these sales are not fully legal because the state has not yet put its regulatory framework in place.

“It’s amazing how clueless people are about what’s going on in Florida,” an anonymous source within the state's MMJ industry said.

Florida Republicans are now pointing the finger at each over the legislative dysfunction that will likely prevent the state’s newfound medical marijuana program from being launched in a manner close to what was originally approved by the voters back in November.

According to a report in the Panama City News Herald, House and Senate leaders are on the verge of meeting out behind the Capitol Building in Tallahassee to duke it out over the debacle last week that put the outcome of the state’s medical marijuana law in the hands of the state Health Department.

Senate President Joe Negron says

With a 31-7 vote, the Florida Senate approved a bill to expand the state's medical marijuana program on Thursday. The bill already passed the House on Tuesday, but must return to that chamber for approval , as the Senate made changes to the bill. Today, however, is the final day that any non-budget legislation can be passed in this year's session.

Although some legislators feel that the bill in its current form is not perfect, they still hope to pass it so that there is a framework in place for the constantly expanding industry.