As the Florida Legislature gets ready to make rules to implement Amendment 2, the seven corporations exclusively licensed to grow and sell medical marijuana are raising and spending millions to expand their fledgling operations and protect their stake in what promises to be a lucrative industry.
Current licensees are concerned about protecting their share of the burgeoning market, while at the same time saying they want to make quality medical marijuana available to the people who need it most. All told they’ve hired close to 60 lobbyists to represent their interests before the Legislature, as it sets out to rewrite the rules governing medical marijuana in the state to accommodate what 70 percent of voters approved.
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Patients and physicians tend to support a more competitive framework, as they’ve testified at rule-making hearings around the state held by the Department of Health. They complain that the vertical integration of the industry from seed to sale gives the seven licensees a monopoly that has created hurdles to access and affordability.
