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{"id":63158,"date":"2020-10-07T18:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-10-07T22:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/?p=63158"},"modified":"2020-10-07T16:18:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-07T20:18:57","slug":"fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Fate of Medical Marijuana Industry in Hands of State Supreme Court"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fate of the state\u2019s medical marijuana regulatory structure lies in the hands of the Florida Supreme Court, which on Wednesday heard a legal challenge brought by Florigrown for a second time.<\/p>\n

The company alleges the state\u2019s law favored some businesses getting licenses over others.<\/p>\n

The court must now decide whether that\u2019s true.<\/p>\n

<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>22 growers licenses have been issued since voters approved medical marijuana in 2016.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is everything but a free market. It has created a monopoly,\u201d said Florigrown Attorney Katherine Giddings.<\/p>\n<p>Giddings argued the law that implemented the 2016 constitutional amendment carved out a special class, specifically designed to put those companies first in line.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Legislature might as well just have named them in the statute,\u201d said Giddings.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-63158 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000001\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000001-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000001-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000001-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000001.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000003\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000003-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000003-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000003-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000003.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>The Department of Health argued Florigrown hasn\u2019t received one of the 11 available licenses because they didn\u2019t qualify.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Florigrown met the statutory requirements, including vertical integration, it certainly could apply for one of those 11 remaining licenses,\u201d said DOH attorney Joe Jacquot.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health said the only reason it hasn\u2019t begun issuing those available licenses is because of the pending litigation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHopefully we can get some clarity and reopen that application process,\u201d said Jacquot.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-2 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-2' class='gallery galleryid-63158 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000007\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000007-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000007-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000007-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000007.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000002\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000002-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000002-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000002-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000002.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000005\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000005-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000005-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000005-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000005.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Also at issue in the case is whether the it\u2019s constitutional for the state to require medical marijuana license holders to control everything from seed to sale.<\/p>\n<p>If the court does rule in Florigrown\u2019s favor on that issue, it could open up the market to individual retailers, growers and distributors.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health argued the seed to sale model of the medical marijuana industry is essential to ensuring a safe and quality product, a requirement it contends is explicitly laid out in the 2016 amendment.<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-3 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-3' class='gallery galleryid-63158 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000004\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000004-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000004-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000004-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000004.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000010\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000010-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000010-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000010-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000010.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/2020\/10\/07\/fate-of-medical-marijuana-industry-in-hands-of-state-supreme-court\/marijuana-hearing00000009\/'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"113\" src=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000009-200x113.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000009-200x113.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000009-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Marijuana-Hearing00000009.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>Jeff Sharkey with the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida said regardless of how the court rules, the conclusion of the lawsuit will benefit patients.<\/p>\n<p>“There will be more competition. There will be more diversity. There will be more affordability for these products and more products,\u201d said Sharkey.<\/p>\n<p>Whether 11 new companies enter the marketplace or many more, rests in the hands of the justices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The fate of the state\u2019s medical marijuana regulatory structure lies in the hands of the Florida Supreme Court, which on Wednesday heard a legal challenge brought by Florigrown for a second time. The company alleges the state\u2019s law favored some businesses getting licenses over others. The court must now decide whether that\u2019s true. 22 growers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/132"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63187,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63158\/revisions\/63187"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flanews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}