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Florida’s first medical marijuana law has been bogged down by legal challenges and there’s no medicine available almost two years after the law was passed. As Matt Galka tells us, more delays could be coming.

Five companies were awarded the first licenses to grow low-THC medical marijuana in Florida at the end of November.  The ones that lost out had three weeks to challenge the state on it.

When that deadline passed Monday, 13 challenges had been made. Taylor Patrick Biehl with the Florida Medical Marijuana Business Association says the delays were expected.

“There’s no telling how long of a delay this will cause, however, it could be two to three months, it’s certainly going to freeze the process up, but I have the utmost confidence in the Department of Health, I think they’ve done a great job thus far but it’s just a matter of sitting back and watching things unfold,” said Biehl.

Growers who had been awarded one of the five licenses say they’re frustrated. We spoke to Hackney Nursery owner George Hackney in the summer before he had secured the license for the northwest region.  We reached him by phone after the latest challenges were made.

“It’s frustrating, no doubt about it, but it’s part of the process,” he said.

One challenge was made in his region by Alpha Foliage – a company which had already been awarded a license in a different region.

“We’re going to really just continue to focus, though, as we told you before, on getting these naturally based therapeutic products to the patients of Florida as quickly as possible,” said Susan Driscoll, Alpha Foliage’s managing partner.

Legislators will consider expanding Florida’s medical marijuana laws this upcoming legislative session – and that could mean granting more licenses.

Growers of the low-THC medical marijuana are hopeful that the medicine will be available in the summer of 2016.