cannabis

The Florida Division of Elections had received more than 420,000 valid signatures from the PAC Smart & Safe Florida, about half of the what is needed to get a state constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot.

Commissioners voted to enact an ordinance that would ban the establishment or location of medical marijuana dispensing facilities in unincorporated parts of the county.

An administrative law judge rules that the Pigford license earmarked for Moton Hopkins should not go to his heirs and partners because they are not members of a "recognized class."

The anticipated move could double the size of the state's medical cannabis industry. The health department also made it more expensive for marijuana operators to renew their licenses every two years.

In 2021, cannabis sales increased to $30 billion, 40% higher than the previous year. The United States is expected to make up 75% of global cannabis sales in 2026.

The proceedings against Dr. Joseph Dorn, who was one of the first Florida doctors eligible to order medical marijuana for patients, have been closely watched in the state’s medical cannabis community.

State health officials deemed the application submitted by Moton Hopkins and Hatchett Creek Farms, of which he owned 51 percent, to be the cream of the crop, but after he died decided to award the license to someone else.

The 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp created a loophole for an unregulated copycat of marijuana. A form of delta-9 THC — the psychoactive substance in pot — doesn’t face the same regulations as marijuana and is poised to upend the cannabis industry.

In all, Trulieve has contributed $10 million to the Smart & Safe Florida political committee, which is trying to get the initiative on the 2024 ballot.

The judge called out the DeSantis administration's foot-dragging as he issued a concurring opinion in an appeal by Louis Del Favero Orchids, which has long sought a license for a treatment center.