TALLAHASSEE – A bill attempting to get the implementation of the state's Charlotte's Web marijuana law back on track has created a new dilemma for its sponsor: how to make it equitable for black farmers.
Under the existing law, only farms that have been in continuous existence for 30 years and grow 400,000 or more plants are eligible to bid for one of five licenses to cultivate and distribute the noneuphoric strain of cannabis for patients with epilepsy, cancer and chronic muscle spasms.
According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, there are 99 Florida farms that qualify. Left out, however, are hundreds of black farmers who say that 30 years ago they were not yet in business because they were arguing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture over discriminatory lending practices.
