A $50 million medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) license will soon be reserved for an African American farmer after Florida’s Supreme Court upheld a 2017 law that included a provision designating such application to litigants in the Pigford vs. Glickman lawsuit from 1999.
The class action lawsuit accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture of discrimination against African American farmers when allocating farm loans and other financial assistance from 1981-1996, which was settled in favor of the farmers.
The 2017 law or Ch. 381, Section 381.986 Florida statutes, also requires the licensed company or individual to maintain all levels of business including cultivation, processing, transportation, and dispensing involved in the sale of medical marijuana within a MMTC. For “Pigford” litigant to become fully eligible, they must also have a business license that has been active for at least five years within the state of Florida.
Currently, there are 22 MMTC’s in Florida that are responsible for over 200 dispensaries across the state. That number is expected to increase significantly because the 2017 law requires the Florida Department of Health’s to issue four new MMTC licenses every time the number of active qualified patients increases by 100,000. After the state lacked in adding said licenses over the past few years, the FDOH must add 15 new licenses in order to abide by the law. Once the number of qualified patients reaches 600,000, the number of required new licenses will increase to 19.
The rules set for the Pigford farmers’ application will most likely be the template for the process other individuals or companies will face in trying to obtain a license, according to The News service of Florida.
Although the number of new licenses will almost double the amount of MMTC’s in the state, it does not match the vast number of investors trying to bid for a chance to become part of what has been called the “Green Rush” in Florida by The News Service.
Even with the priority for eligible African American farmers being upheld, state officials expect for there to be some legal challenges as the year goes on.
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Casey Owens is a contributing writer for The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected].
