Experience Over Luck Should Determine Florida Cannabis Grow Licence Distribution: One Large Grower Sues To Prove the Point

The Florida cannabis market, caught right now between legislative reform and pending voter driven constitutional change, has been complicated by a new wrinkle:  Lawsuits.  

The current process for qualifying for a CBD growing license— already complicated enough— comes down currently to chance rather than experience.  Draft regulations in the state have contemplated several approaches including mandating a thirty year grow record at one point (of any crop – not cannabis specifically).  

In an effort to avoid lawsuits, the Florida Department of Health moved away from the experience model. Ironically enough, Costa Farms, one of the largest farming operations in the state, is now suing the Department over its current plans— to use a lottery system totally based on chance rather than experience.

The shifting winds in this market have caused even more support by the legal cannabis lobby nationally looking to enter the market here to donate funds to help the passage of Amendment 2—  the pending ballot initiative to change the state’s constitution to legalize full medical use.

For now, however, one month before this critical vote, the state continues to move forward on trying to implement legislature determined CBD only reform.  How much of this infrastructure will survive the legalization vote in November is anyone’s guess.  

Additionally, another interesting issue about the Florida market is the impact of the indoor grow market (which in Florida is for the most part required given the humidity of the air) on traditional growers with large outdoor operations.  For this reason too, current legal battles and legalities as a whole hit a grey area for those looking to break in to the cannabis business.