{"id":4634,"date":"2015-09-06T14:49:59","date_gmt":"2015-09-06T14:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/?p=3701"},"modified":"2015-09-06T14:49:59","modified_gmt":"2015-09-06T14:49:59","slug":"florida-panel-prepares-to-move-forward-with-medical-marijuana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/florida-panel-prepares-to-move-forward-with-medical-marijuana\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida: Panel Prepares To Move Forward With Medical Marijuana"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"wp_fb_like_button\" style=\"margin:5px 0 5px 5px;float:right;height:100px;\"><script src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><fb:like href=\"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/florida-panel-prepares-to-move-forward-with-medical-marijuana\/\" send=\"true\" layout=\"standard\" width=\"450\" show_faces=\"false\" font=\"arial\" action=\"like\" colorscheme=\"light\"><\/fb:like><\/div><p>State health officials have named the three members of a panel that will choose five nurseries to be Florida\u2019s first legal pot growers, setting in motion the final stages of the drawn-out process to get Florida\u2019s new medical-marijuana industry off the ground.<\/p>\n<p>The Department of Health tapped two of its own workers &#8211; Christian Bax, executive director of the agency\u2019s Office of Compassionate Use, and Ann Filloon, fiscal unit director of the Division of Children\u2019s Medical Services \u2014 to serve on the committee authorized by the Legislature and Scott last year. Joining them is Patricia Nelson, a special adviser to Gov. Rick Scott who was Bax\u2019s predecessor and shepherded the creation of the industry\u2019s preliminary guidelines, including the applications from growers.<\/p>\n<p>Under a rule generated early this year, the selection committee must be composed of the chief of the Office of Compassionate Use, an accountant and a member of the governor\u2019s Statewide Drug Advisory Policy Council appointed by the state surgeon general, who also serves as the secretary of the Department of Health. It is unclear when Nelson, who stepped down from her post at the health department last month to return to Scott\u2019s inner office, was appointed to the drug advisory council.<\/p>\n<p>Many of the applicants seeking to become one of the five licensees to grow, process and distribute non-euphoric pot products welcomed Nelson\u2019s presence on the panel.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a good selection. Patty\u2019s knowledgeable. She\u2019s certainly been involved in the history of the rule-making,\u201d said Jeff Sharkey, a lobbyist who formed the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida and is affiliated with two nurseries seeking licenses. \u201cThey need someone with some knowledge, some history and some experience to evaluate effectively who are the best applicants.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Twenty-four nurseries &#8211; who have joined forces with consultants, investors and out-of-state pot growers &#8211; are seeking to be one of the fortunate five \u201cdispensing organizations\u201d with licenses to grow cannabis that is low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. Parents of children with a severe form of epilepsy pushed the Legislature last year to approve the low-THC cannabis, believing it can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures.<\/p>\n<p>Doctors who have undergone special training were supposed to begin ordering the low-THC products for their patients on Jan. 1. But legal challenges and a judge\u2019s decision last year that tossed out health officials\u2019 first stab at a rule put implementation of the law far behind what lawmakers envisioned.<\/p>\n<p>Health officials could not say how long the committee will take to evaluate the 28 applications, which include at least four in each of five regions of the state. A handful of the nurseries, which, under the law, must have been in business in Florida for at least 30 years and grow a minimum of 400,000 plants at the time they apply, have sought licenses in more than one region.<\/p>\n<p>An intensive review of documents by The News Service of Florida revealed that, except for Nelson, each of the members of the negotiated rulemaking committee are affiliated with at least one of the nurseries hoping to be licensees.<\/p>\n<p>Each of the nurseries represented on the committee &#8211; Costa Farms, Hackney Nursery, Chestnut Hill Farms, Knox Nurseries and Plants of Ruskin &#8211; have applied for a license or are affiliated with one of the groups seeking licensure.<\/p>\n<p>Jill Lamoureux, who served as the panel\u2019s expert on testing and was formerly associated with Colorado-based CannLabs, is listed as an adviser on Knox Nurseries\u2019 and Chestnut Hill\u2019s applications. The owners of both of the nurseries served on the committee alongside Lamoureux.<\/p>\n<p>Donna Blanton, a Tallahassee attorney who served on the committee as an administrative law expert, represents Arcadia-based Sun Bulb Nurseries, which is seeking a license in the state\u2019s Southwest region.<\/p>\n<p>Darrin Potter, who earned a spot on the rulemaking committee because of his pot -growing prowess in Colorado, is identified as the chief horticultural officer for McCrory\u2019s Sunny Hill Nursery. The nursery, which has joined forces with three other growers and is linked with \u201cGrowHealthy Farms\u201d along with its various subsidies, purchased a 180,000-square-foot facility in Lake Wales last year with the hopes of making the final cut for licensure.<\/p>\n<p>Jared Stanley, whose brother Joel served on the committee, is a member of the Colorado family who developed the \u201cCharlotte\u2019s Web\u201d strain of cannabis whose name has become almost synonymous with low-THC, high-CBD medical marijuana. Jared Stanley is affiliated with Loop\u2019s Nursery in Jacksonville. Peyton Moseley, the husband of committee member Holley Moseley, is also part of Loop\u2019s team. Holley Moseley heads up the \u201cRealm of Caring Florida\u201d non-profit organization also linked with the nursery.<\/p>\n<p>Jeffrey Block, an anesthesiologist who was a member of the committee, is listed as Costa Farms\u2019 back-up medical director. Pedro Freyre, a Costa vice president, also served on the committee.<\/p>\n<p>John Morgan, an Orlando trial attorney who is backing a second attempt at passing a constitutional amendment in 2016 to legalize more-traditional medical marijuana, called the competition for the licenses a \u201cgold rush\u201d with little evidence that the effort will be financially fruitful.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey don\u2019t really have a plan, many of them. They don\u2019t have any forecasts. They just want to get out and get a stake in a piece of land. And most of them really don\u2019t understand the economics down the road,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cThis is a big industry, lots of taxes. It\u2019s done big things for states like Colorado. So there is money to be made. But there\u2019s a big unknown.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img src=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/gallery\/data\/1412\/21919.jpg\" alt=\"\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>News Moderator: Jacob Redmond <a href=\"http:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">420 MAGAZINE \u00ae<\/a><br \/>\nFull Article: <a href=\"http:\/\/staugustine.com\/news\/2015-08-29\/state-panel-prepares-move-forward-medical-marijuana#.VeG4f_lVhBc\" target=\"_blank\">State panel prepares to move forward with medical marijuana | StAugustine.com<\/a><br \/>\nAuthor: Dara Kam<br \/>\nContact: <a href=\"http:\/\/staugustine.com\/contact\" target=\"_blank\">Contact | StAugustine.com<\/a><br \/>\nPhoto Credit: The Daily Beast<br \/>\nWebsite: <a href=\"http:\/\/staugustine.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">St. Augustine Florida&#8217;s News, Sports, Events and Resources | StAugustine.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>State health officials have named the three members of a panel that will choose five nurseries to be Florida\u2019s first&#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.420magazine.com\/2015\/08\/florida-panel-prepares-to-move-forward-with-medical-marijuana\/\" class=\"read-more\">[Read More]<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1597,9,1,3],"tags":[4165],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4634"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4634"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4634\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannitrol.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}