UPDATE: Florida to Problem Extra Medical Marijuana Licenses, Boost Application Costs

Editor’s note: Gov. Ron DeSantis’ management revealed Feb. 3 that the Florida Division of Health and wellness will certainly approve applications for the 22 brand-new clinical marijuana service licenses in between April 24-28, 2022, according to the Tampa Bay Bay Times See Marijuana Service Times’ initial coverage on the brand-new licenses listed below.

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The Florida Division of Health And Wellness (DOH) and also Florida Workplace of Medical Cannabis Usage (OMMU) revealed a strategy Dec. 19 to provide approximately 22 added clinical marijuana licenses throughout the state.

The guideline would certainly enable wellness authorities to approve brand-new permit applications in a batching procedure, restricting all brand-new licenses from being readily available at the same time. It would certainly likewise enhance the nonrefundable application cost for brand-new licenses to $146,000.

According to the emergency situation guideline, a “Batching cycle indicates the organizing for relative evaluation of applications for MMTC (clinical cannabis therapy facilities) licensure that are sent for a defined variety of readily available MMTC licenses within the very same application home window.”

The application home window would certainly be a five-day duration throughout which the DOH can approve applications for the batching cycle. The emergency situation guideline mentions that the DOH will certainly launch a different guideline to define the variety of licenses it will certainly provide per batching cycle.

This long-awaited step from regulatory authorities would certainly enable ambitious marijuana organizations to get in the state’s market, whose retail impact continues to be minimal to 22 drivers, with Trulieve, Verano, Ayr Health and also Curaleaf standing for greater than 58% of the state’s 501 retail areas since Dec. 16, according to a once a week upgrade from the OMMU.

Under state legislation, the DOH is called for to provide 4 added MMTC licenses for each 100,000 brand-new people. With 776,365 energetic people since Dec. 16, the state would certainly require to provide greater than 20 added licenses to stay on par with the variety of energetic people, Marijuana Service Times formerly reported.

When CBT Partner Editor Tony Lange asked Jonathan Robbins, chair of Akerman’s nationwide marijuana method, in September if he assumes the DOH would certainly provide those added licenses prior to the 2024 political election, he was confident.

” Prior to the 2024 political election? I sure really hope so,” Robbins claimed. “I have a great deal of customers that are very distressed to be able to look for a permit, and also they have actually been guaranteeing this given that 2017. As well as although we have 22 licensees right here, we have actually never ever truly had an official application procedure. They had an application procedure back in 2015 for the initial 5 high-CBD, low-THC licenses. They offered those 5. Every various other permit that has actually been provided ever since, indicating the various other 17, have actually been using resolution of lawsuits.”

The DOH likewise provided an emergency situation guideline that boosts the biennial permit revival price from regarding $60,000 to $1.33 million, CBS Information reported

According to the information electrical outlet, the rise in permit revival costs follows Gov. Ron DeSantis revealed previously this year that “business weren’t paying sufficient to run in the state.”

DOH representative James Williams III informed CBS Information that the “revival cost is based upon a formula that consists of the quantity of cash it sets you back the state to control the sector.”

While the brand-new guidelines “attracted appreciation” in the state, some sector leaders presume that the permit cost rises can “attract pushback” among existing drivers, according to CBS Information.