Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
A Eustis nursery will join the ranks of plant growers authorized to grow pot for the state's infant medical marijuana industry.
The Florida Department of Health agreed to give McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery a medical marijuana license - the state's seventh - after nearly a year of protracted and expensive litigation and before Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur could issue a ruling on the case. McCrory's had initially lost out to a competitor by a fraction of a percentage point last fall but argued that it was because of a scoring mistake.
Company officials say no marijuana plants will be grown in Eustis, which is used to grow and wholesale bromeliads. Rather, McCrory's is partnering with several other nurseries under the label Grow Healthy to cultivate marijuana at a separate 33-acre, 187,000-square-foot facility in Lake Wales.
"You don't really want to have medical marijuana growing on a site where you have ornamentals and pesticides," Grow Healthy CEO Don Clifford said. "Pesticides aren't a problem when you're growing ornamentals, but it's a big problem when you're growing medicine."
In the Dec. 12 settlement, posted Monday on the Division of Administrative Hearings website, state health officials acknowledged that McCrory's should have received a Central Florida license awarded in November to Knox Nursery.
Of the seven applicants in the Central region, a three-member panel charged with evaluating the applications gave McCrory's an aggregate score of 5.5417, just a fraction below Knox, whose score of 5.5458 earned the Lake Mary-based grower a license.
McCrory's contended that one of the reviewers, who identified the nursery as "superior to all other applicants" in one component, erroneously gave the nursery a score of "6" instead of a "7." If the rank had been assigned correctly, McCrory's "would correctly receive the high score and been the highest scoring applicant in the Central region," the nursery's lawyers wrote in May.
The administrative challenges are rooted in a 2014 law that initially called for one license to be awarded in each region of the state for nurseries to grow, process and distribute medical marijuana. That law allowed limited types of non-euphoric cannabis for some patients and was expanded early this year to allow full-strength pot for people who are terminally ill.
The agency's attempts to resolve the administrative challenges by granting new licenses come as lawmakers prepare to grapple with a vastly expanded medical marijuana market in the state, the result of a constitutional amendment approved by voters last month.
Backers of Amendment 2 have maintained that the limited number of licenses allowed in Florida would not provide the access to marijuana treatment anticipated by authors of the proposal or by voters who overwhelmingly signed off on the measure.
State economists estimate that 500,000 patients could be eligible for the treatment, but industry observers predict that number could be even greater because the amendment gives doctors leeway to order pot for illnesses not specifically identified in the amendment.
One of the state's marijuana vendors last week told a Senate panel that the state will have a more-than-adequate pot supply when the amendment is fully implemented later next year, adding that her company alone could provide marijuana treatment for 650,000 patients.
Under the agreement filed Monday, health officials signed off on a license for McCrory's, and the grower promised to drop administrative and court challenges. Both sides agreed to pick up the tab for their own legal fees and costs.
"I believe the state reviewed their case, and I believe that we had a high level of confidence that the judge would rule in our favor, and I believe that the state, after going through this process, agreed with us," GrowHealthy CEO Clifford said.
The Department of Health is "focusing on our role in implementing the amendment as outlined in the measure approved by voters," agency spokeswoman Sarah Revell said in an email.
"The department remains committed to ensuring a regulatory structure that best serves the people of Florida. The department will continue to work with all licensed dispensing organizations to deliver product to patients as quickly and safely as possible," she said.
The law passed early this year allows the agency to grant three additional licenses after more than 250,000 patients have signed up for the marijuana treatment, Revell noted.
The number of licenses available to businesses interested in growing, processing or selling pot products is expected to be one of the most contentious issues lawmakers face as they contemplate implementation of the constitutional amendment during the legislative session that begins in March.
Four of the state's six medical marijuana license-holders are now producing pot treatments. According to Clifford, patients receiving full-strength marijuana --- currently limited to terminally ill patients --- are restricted to purchasing five days' worth of treatment due to a supply shortage.
"They (Department of Health officials) have looked at this. They've looked at Amendment 2. They want to add some capacity and move forward. We applaud that effort," Clifford said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Eustis Nursery To Get Medical Marijuana License
Author: Dara Kam
Contact: (352) 365-8200
Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe
Website: Daily Commercial
The Florida Department of Health agreed to give McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery a medical marijuana license - the state's seventh - after nearly a year of protracted and expensive litigation and before Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur could issue a ruling on the case. McCrory's had initially lost out to a competitor by a fraction of a percentage point last fall but argued that it was because of a scoring mistake.
Company officials say no marijuana plants will be grown in Eustis, which is used to grow and wholesale bromeliads. Rather, McCrory's is partnering with several other nurseries under the label Grow Healthy to cultivate marijuana at a separate 33-acre, 187,000-square-foot facility in Lake Wales.
"You don't really want to have medical marijuana growing on a site where you have ornamentals and pesticides," Grow Healthy CEO Don Clifford said. "Pesticides aren't a problem when you're growing ornamentals, but it's a big problem when you're growing medicine."
In the Dec. 12 settlement, posted Monday on the Division of Administrative Hearings website, state health officials acknowledged that McCrory's should have received a Central Florida license awarded in November to Knox Nursery.
Of the seven applicants in the Central region, a three-member panel charged with evaluating the applications gave McCrory's an aggregate score of 5.5417, just a fraction below Knox, whose score of 5.5458 earned the Lake Mary-based grower a license.
McCrory's contended that one of the reviewers, who identified the nursery as "superior to all other applicants" in one component, erroneously gave the nursery a score of "6" instead of a "7." If the rank had been assigned correctly, McCrory's "would correctly receive the high score and been the highest scoring applicant in the Central region," the nursery's lawyers wrote in May.
The administrative challenges are rooted in a 2014 law that initially called for one license to be awarded in each region of the state for nurseries to grow, process and distribute medical marijuana. That law allowed limited types of non-euphoric cannabis for some patients and was expanded early this year to allow full-strength pot for people who are terminally ill.
The agency's attempts to resolve the administrative challenges by granting new licenses come as lawmakers prepare to grapple with a vastly expanded medical marijuana market in the state, the result of a constitutional amendment approved by voters last month.
Backers of Amendment 2 have maintained that the limited number of licenses allowed in Florida would not provide the access to marijuana treatment anticipated by authors of the proposal or by voters who overwhelmingly signed off on the measure.
State economists estimate that 500,000 patients could be eligible for the treatment, but industry observers predict that number could be even greater because the amendment gives doctors leeway to order pot for illnesses not specifically identified in the amendment.
One of the state's marijuana vendors last week told a Senate panel that the state will have a more-than-adequate pot supply when the amendment is fully implemented later next year, adding that her company alone could provide marijuana treatment for 650,000 patients.
Under the agreement filed Monday, health officials signed off on a license for McCrory's, and the grower promised to drop administrative and court challenges. Both sides agreed to pick up the tab for their own legal fees and costs.
"I believe the state reviewed their case, and I believe that we had a high level of confidence that the judge would rule in our favor, and I believe that the state, after going through this process, agreed with us," GrowHealthy CEO Clifford said.
The Department of Health is "focusing on our role in implementing the amendment as outlined in the measure approved by voters," agency spokeswoman Sarah Revell said in an email.
"The department remains committed to ensuring a regulatory structure that best serves the people of Florida. The department will continue to work with all licensed dispensing organizations to deliver product to patients as quickly and safely as possible," she said.
The law passed early this year allows the agency to grant three additional licenses after more than 250,000 patients have signed up for the marijuana treatment, Revell noted.
The number of licenses available to businesses interested in growing, processing or selling pot products is expected to be one of the most contentious issues lawmakers face as they contemplate implementation of the constitutional amendment during the legislative session that begins in March.
Four of the state's six medical marijuana license-holders are now producing pot treatments. According to Clifford, patients receiving full-strength marijuana --- currently limited to terminally ill patients --- are restricted to purchasing five days' worth of treatment due to a supply shortage.
"They (Department of Health officials) have looked at this. They've looked at Amendment 2. They want to add some capacity and move forward. We applaud that effort," Clifford said.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Eustis Nursery To Get Medical Marijuana License
Author: Dara Kam
Contact: (352) 365-8200
Photo Credit: Glen Stubbe
Website: Daily Commercial
