Farmers are upset with the capital of Florida because its been weeks since the state was supposed to issue ten new pot growing licenses to nurseries.
The state has failed to meet the October 3rd deadline to issue the licenses.
Miami-Dade based grower Bill’s Nursery is not taking things sitting down. The nursery is suing the state in federal court to demand that the Florida Department of Health follow the rules.
According to a news release from the nursery, “The number of MMTCs [medical-marijuana treatment centers] currently operating in Florida has proven to be inadequate for a state so large in both population and geography.”
“The problem is exacerbated by the fact that different marijuana strains have varying effectiveness when treating different medical conditions, and the small number of MMTCs further limits the quantity and types of strains available to patients. Florida law required the DOH to issue ten additional licenses by October 3, 2017; yet the Department has failed to do so — an issue which patients say limits their access to lifesaving medicine,” it went on to read.
Mara Gambineri, a spokeswoman for the Department of Health couldn’t comment on the suit, but she did say, “The department is working diligently every day to implement the many requirements in Amendment 2 and those set by the Florida Legislature in Senate Bill 8A and are dedicated to ensuring patients have safe access to low-THC cannabis and medical marijuana,” she added. “We remain committed to moving this process forward, and will do so in an expedient and thoughtful manner.”
“It’s personal for us — it hits home,” said Donovan Garrison, one of the owners of Bill’s Nursery which is run by father Steve Garrison and his two sons, Rusty and Donovan.