Twelve applications for a lucrative, vertically integrated medical cannabis license targeted for a Black farmer were received by Florida regulators, and there was some uncertainty.
According to records recently published on the website of the Florida health department, applicants included Black farmers supported by investors with substantial financial means.
Although the email was largely redacted, the documents showed that some candidates were uncertain about the application process, particularly the requirement to have been doing business in the state for at least five years, according to the News Service of Florida.
The license was necessary under a 2017 law enacted by the Florida Legislature and is related to a discrimination case from 1981 that concluded federal officials had treated Black farmers in the state unfairly.
The statute expressly mandates that Florida marijuana authorities issue a license to a potential customer who has been identified as a class member in the aforementioned “Pigford” class-action complaint.
The $146,000 licensing price is contentious.
Roz McCarthy, CEO and founder of the charity Minorities for Medical Cannabis, recognized that the application process was still unclear to some but said her organization organized boot camps for potential candidates.
The News Service of Florida quoted her as saying, “The task is onerous, to say the least, and that was really clear in some of the (application) responses.”
“I know what you’re trying to achieve, but it truly seems like it didn’t do what it was supposed to do. It took us six years to get to this point,” someone said.
One of the applications named a number of investors, including McCarthy.
Regulators are now reviewing the applications.
Florida’s medical marijuana sector is expected to earn $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion in revenue this year, according to the 2022 MJBizFactbook.
