Robert Celt
New Member
The CEO of a Lake Wales company says newly passed legislation creates a new avenue for its pursuit of a license to produce medicine derived from marijuana.
In this year's session, the Florida Legislature expanded on a 2014 law intended to provide non-euphoric cannabis oil for children with severe epilepsy and other debilitating illnesses.
The Legislature also addressed an apparent error in the awarding of one of five licenses for production of the medicine. Though that legislation seemed intended to benefit a Gainesville-based nursery initially ranked second in the Northeast region, it could also prove favorable for GrowHealthy and its partner, McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery of Eustis.
The new law says any applicant ranked first in its region after a review of the scoring is automatically granted a license. The legislation essentially awarded a license to San Felasco Nursery, originally rated second in the Northeast region but moved to first after its challenge to the scoring was upheld.
GrowHealthy CEO Don Clifford said his consortium should benefit in the same way. Lawyers for the partnership point to an apparent error in which one of the three judges rated the GrowHealthy group first in one category yet failed to allot the maximum point total.
The scoring was so close in the Central region that the GrowHealthy partnership would have moved ahead of Knox Nursery had it scored one point higher in any of the 14 categories rated by the three judges.
With seven applicants in the Central region, the judges awarded points in descending order in each category, meaning the top-rated applicant in a category would get seven points. That was the case in 209 of 210 individual scores.
But in one category, dispensing, panelist Christian Bax rated GrowHealthy first yet awarded six points rather than seven. Clifford said that seems an obvious error that if corrected would vault the GrowHealthy partnership to first in the Central region.
"We have filed with the state to get a hearing to just present our case on the scoring," Clifford said Friday. "If the judge rules in our favor, we get the license immediately. If the judge does not rule in our favor, we'll continue on with our hearing."
GrowHealthy bought a former mattress factory and 33 acres in Lake Wales in 2014, at a time when Florida voters were considering a constitutional amendment to legalize medical use of marijuana. That measure fell short of the 60-percent threshold for passage in November 2014.
At that point, GrowHealthy focused on seeking a license from the Department of Health for the cannabis oil program. That product, based on a strain developed in Colorado, uses marijuana plants bred to be low in THC, the compound that produces psychological effects.
GrowHealthy's partnership with McCrory's Sunny Hill reflected a state rule requiring applicants to have been in business at least 30 years and grow at least 400,000 plants.
The apparent scoring error is one of several points raised by the GrowHealthy partnership, represented by the Tallahassee law firm Greenberg Traurig, in its petition. A hearing on that challenge was scheduled to begin April 25 in Tallahassee under Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur.
The new legislation, though, created an opening for a "standalone" legal challenge, Clifford said.
"We would hope the judge would be able to schedule us very soon on that," Clifford said.
If McArthur grants a hearing on the narrow scoring issue and rules in favor of GrowHealthy, the partnership would receive a license and Knox Nursery would retain its license.
If that doesn't happen, GrowHealthy will have to wait a few more months to make its case. In a ruling issued Thursday, McArthur said both parties need more time to review the new legislation.
The procedure is allotted three weeks, and with McArthur's calendar filled for the coming months the earliest the hearing could take place is October, Clifford said.
McArthur previously determined the hearing would be a "de novo" procedure, meaning she would essentially conduct a new assessment of the applications.
In its petition, the GrowHealthy alliance cited several alleged deficiencies in the application from Knox Nursery. Most generally, Clifford said, his team entered the process much better prepared to begin production than the Winter Garden nursery.
GrowHealthy and its financial backers have an existing facility that has already been greatly renovated, Clifford said. By contrast, Knox Nursery's application said the company would begin construction of a facility if it received a license.
Clifford said Knox Nursery is behind schedule in that regard. He cited a letter the company recently received from the Department of Health chastising the business for failing to begin construction within 12 weeks of receiving a license. A spokesperson for Knox could not be reached Friday.
The medical marijuana program itself is far behind the schedule originally set by the Legislature. Under the 2014 law, production was set to begin early in 2015, but protracted rule-making and legal challenges have created a series of delays.
Florida voters face a second chance in November to adopt a measure allowing medical use of marijuana for a much broader range of conditions than the 2014 law specified. That means that even if GrowHealthy fails on its two potential administrative challenges, it would still have a chance to begin production if Amendment 2 passes.
Clifford said GrowHealthy would be able to start production within a month of getting a license and has about 20 potential employees ready to begin work. He said he made a phone call last week to Lake Wales officials to update them on the situation.
"We're staying here," Clifford said. "We've put millions and millions of dollars into this facility already. We're trying to do it the right way, and we're committed to staying till we win."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: FL: Lake Wales Firm Sees New Hope For Medical Marijuana Manufacturing License
Author: Gary White
Photo Credit: iStock
Website: The Ledger
In this year's session, the Florida Legislature expanded on a 2014 law intended to provide non-euphoric cannabis oil for children with severe epilepsy and other debilitating illnesses.
The Legislature also addressed an apparent error in the awarding of one of five licenses for production of the medicine. Though that legislation seemed intended to benefit a Gainesville-based nursery initially ranked second in the Northeast region, it could also prove favorable for GrowHealthy and its partner, McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery of Eustis.
The new law says any applicant ranked first in its region after a review of the scoring is automatically granted a license. The legislation essentially awarded a license to San Felasco Nursery, originally rated second in the Northeast region but moved to first after its challenge to the scoring was upheld.
GrowHealthy CEO Don Clifford said his consortium should benefit in the same way. Lawyers for the partnership point to an apparent error in which one of the three judges rated the GrowHealthy group first in one category yet failed to allot the maximum point total.
The scoring was so close in the Central region that the GrowHealthy partnership would have moved ahead of Knox Nursery had it scored one point higher in any of the 14 categories rated by the three judges.
With seven applicants in the Central region, the judges awarded points in descending order in each category, meaning the top-rated applicant in a category would get seven points. That was the case in 209 of 210 individual scores.
But in one category, dispensing, panelist Christian Bax rated GrowHealthy first yet awarded six points rather than seven. Clifford said that seems an obvious error that if corrected would vault the GrowHealthy partnership to first in the Central region.
"We have filed with the state to get a hearing to just present our case on the scoring," Clifford said Friday. "If the judge rules in our favor, we get the license immediately. If the judge does not rule in our favor, we'll continue on with our hearing."
GrowHealthy bought a former mattress factory and 33 acres in Lake Wales in 2014, at a time when Florida voters were considering a constitutional amendment to legalize medical use of marijuana. That measure fell short of the 60-percent threshold for passage in November 2014.
At that point, GrowHealthy focused on seeking a license from the Department of Health for the cannabis oil program. That product, based on a strain developed in Colorado, uses marijuana plants bred to be low in THC, the compound that produces psychological effects.
GrowHealthy's partnership with McCrory's Sunny Hill reflected a state rule requiring applicants to have been in business at least 30 years and grow at least 400,000 plants.
The apparent scoring error is one of several points raised by the GrowHealthy partnership, represented by the Tallahassee law firm Greenberg Traurig, in its petition. A hearing on that challenge was scheduled to begin April 25 in Tallahassee under Administrative Law Judge Elizabeth McArthur.
The new legislation, though, created an opening for a "standalone" legal challenge, Clifford said.
"We would hope the judge would be able to schedule us very soon on that," Clifford said.
If McArthur grants a hearing on the narrow scoring issue and rules in favor of GrowHealthy, the partnership would receive a license and Knox Nursery would retain its license.
If that doesn't happen, GrowHealthy will have to wait a few more months to make its case. In a ruling issued Thursday, McArthur said both parties need more time to review the new legislation.
The procedure is allotted three weeks, and with McArthur's calendar filled for the coming months the earliest the hearing could take place is October, Clifford said.
McArthur previously determined the hearing would be a "de novo" procedure, meaning she would essentially conduct a new assessment of the applications.
In its petition, the GrowHealthy alliance cited several alleged deficiencies in the application from Knox Nursery. Most generally, Clifford said, his team entered the process much better prepared to begin production than the Winter Garden nursery.
GrowHealthy and its financial backers have an existing facility that has already been greatly renovated, Clifford said. By contrast, Knox Nursery's application said the company would begin construction of a facility if it received a license.
Clifford said Knox Nursery is behind schedule in that regard. He cited a letter the company recently received from the Department of Health chastising the business for failing to begin construction within 12 weeks of receiving a license. A spokesperson for Knox could not be reached Friday.
The medical marijuana program itself is far behind the schedule originally set by the Legislature. Under the 2014 law, production was set to begin early in 2015, but protracted rule-making and legal challenges have created a series of delays.
Florida voters face a second chance in November to adopt a measure allowing medical use of marijuana for a much broader range of conditions than the 2014 law specified. That means that even if GrowHealthy fails on its two potential administrative challenges, it would still have a chance to begin production if Amendment 2 passes.
Clifford said GrowHealthy would be able to start production within a month of getting a license and has about 20 potential employees ready to begin work. He said he made a phone call last week to Lake Wales officials to update them on the situation.
"We're staying here," Clifford said. "We've put millions and millions of dollars into this facility already. We're trying to do it the right way, and we're committed to staying till we win."
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: FL: Lake Wales Firm Sees New Hope For Medical Marijuana Manufacturing License
Author: Gary White
Photo Credit: iStock
Website: The Ledger
