Welcome to

The court battles are over and now Florida is taking the next steps to grow and distribute a form of medical marijuana. As Matt Galka tells us, farmers around the state are waiting to see if they’ll be selected to grow the plant.

Hackney Nursery owner George Hackney has never grown marijuana.  That could change soon for the Gadsden County farmer.  Hackney is one of 28 applicants that applied to grow a low-THC medical marijuana strain known as Charlotte’s Web. Experts say it’s effective in helping seizure patients.

“We researched it and we talked to parents, we talked to doctors, and we found out there is a need,” he said.

Hackney’s nursery has the tools and has assembled a team that includes lab and medical experts.

“We felt we had the ability to grow a really quality product that could be a benefit to these children and help them out. And, hopefully, at the end of the day, might be a profit in there for us,” said Hackney.

The Department of Health will only be granting 5 licenses to growers.

The process opens the door for the bigger question of whether or not the state will ultimately expand medical marijuana use or even jump to recreational use. Medical Marijuana Business Association’s Jeff Sharkey says the low-THC law is limited.

“It potentially does not help as many people, patients as possible, as it could.  There’s strong interest in expanding the medical conditions and increasing the potency of the medical canibus,” he said.

Hackney isn’t sold yet on expanding past medical uses.

“I can’t answer that, I don’t know, and I don’t know if that’s a good thing for Florida or not,” he said.

He and the other applicants will have to wait about three months before they know whether or not they’ll be growing the medicinal pot on their farms.

Growers say it will take about a year to grow and cultivate the medical marijuana plant.