Florida gives first green light to 22 new medical marijuana treatment centers

Late last month, the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use announced that 22 companies looking to become medical marijuana treatment centers received a "letter of intent to approve" their application.

So, the big question is what happens now, and how can this change the landscape of marijuana in the state?

After failing to pass a recreational ballot initiative in the November election, some in Florida’s marijuana industry are celebrating.

A total of 22 companies receiving the first green light to becoming a medical marijuana treatment center in the state.

“It’s certainly a huge obstacle to overcome, being in the top 22. It’s really the first step but there’s still a lot ahead to get the final reward of license,” shares Dustin Robinson.

Robinson is the CEO of Global Investment Group. His business, Infinite Wellness, was one of the companies who received that letter of intent to approve.

He’s part of the first batch of companies to do so since the inception of MMTC’s in the state.

Back in April of 2023, 74 companies submitted their applications in the hopes of getting approved, a process Robinson says was challenging and costly.

“They all had to pay at the very least $146,000 to the state just to apply, and I can assure you that they had other legal fees, consulting fees, they spent money on leases and real estate. Realistically out of those 74, I would be very surprised if anyone spent less than $300 to $400 thousand dollars,” Robinson said.

The 22 were chosen based on scores that were calibrated by a rubric the Office of Medical Marijuana Use provided, and is scored by a third-party company.

"In essence, what you are trying to show from a scoring perspective is that you are able to operate this license from a personnel perspective, from an experience perspective, from an infrastructure perspective, from a real estate perspective," Robinson said. “So you are taking this start up and you are bringing it all the way to the point of launching it without actually launching it. They want to see how far you have taken this company and are you ready to hit launch if we award you this license.”

So, while these companies are ready to take off, they can’t do so just yet.

Those who were denied a possibility of approval have 21 days to challenge that decision. Which means litigation could go on for months or years and those approved would just have to wait.

But Paula Savchenko, an attorney with Cannacore Group says that there is a potential loophole.

“We may see a legislative fix, so basically to work with the legislature to pass some sort of initiative that would allow for some of the groups or all of the groups that received a notice of intent to licenser, to be able to move forward and actually be able to receive the award of licenser, and let the litigation continue on for those who didn’t receive it," Savchenko said.

But right now, it’s too early to tell what will happen. But if and when these 22 applicants get their full approval, how could this change the marijuana landscape as we know it?

Savchenko believes it will just help meet patient demand and bring new products.

"You are just getting better variety and options. This is a medicine, and different things work for different people better right?” she said.

These MMTC’s will still have to abide by current Florida regulation which is that all medical marijuana products sold in this state are from here, and are cultivated, processed, dispensed and delivered from the same facility.