Dara Kam - News Service of Florida

The order came in a lawsuit filed by the Florida attorney general’s office in 2018 seeking unspecified damages against drug manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

The state Department of Health will accept applications for the single Black farmer license March 21-25, the first opportunity for prospective medical marijuana operators to vie for a license since 2015.

Florida health officials had stopped the arrangement, saying it violated a state law banning operators from contracting for services “directly related to the cultivation, processing and dispensing” of cannabis.

The office that oversees the industry is asking for nearly $13 million as part of its expansion plans. Meantime, the health department rolled out an anticipated emergency rule on the Black farmer license.

With the $2.1 billion acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation finalized, Trulieve will have 149 retail locations in 11 states including Florida. Before the deal closed, Trulieve had 85 retail sites in Florida.

A physician is accusing health officials of breaking the law to create fake records in a case involving an investigator falsely posing as a military veteran with PTSD.

The judge said the plaintiffs - parents of children with disabilities - should have pursued administrative claims before the lawsuit, a requirement under a federal law.

The state will kick off the rulemaking process for Black farmer applicants within “weeks to months” and set the stage for another set of licenses that would nearly double the number of operators.

Tampa-based Florigrown challenged the state’s system of requiring licensed medical marijuana operators to handle all aspects of the cannabis business.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Tampa, asks a federal judge to lift restrictions imposed by the CDC that have idled cruise ships in the U.S. for more than a year because of the pandemic.