Robert Celt
New Member
A local company must wait another three months to press its case for receiving a state license to produce medical marijuana.
A partnership that includes GrowHealthy, a Lake Wales firm, faces a hearing April 25 before a state administrative law judge. The alliance has challenged the decision of a three-member panel from the Florida Department of Health to award the license for the Central Region to another applicant, Knox Nursery of Winter Garden.
The application from GrowHealthy and its main partner, McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery of Eustis, finished just 0.0041 points behind Knox Nursery in the judging released Nov. 23, when the Department of Health announced its awarding of licenses in five districts. The department analyzed submissions from 26 companies vying to produce cannabis oil through a program created by the Florida Legislature in 2014.
The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act limits production to oils derived from marijuana plants bred to be low in THC, the compound that produces psychological effects. The law restricts use to patients with cancer, epilepsy, chronic seizures or chronic muscle spasms, and a doctor's recommendation is required.
The GrowHealthy partnership was one of 13 applicants to challenge the judges' decisions. Challenges were filed in all but the Southeast Region, in which Costa Nursery of Miami received the license.
A recent development seemed to bode well for GrowHealthy. All applicants were required to submit a $5 million performance bond, and word emerged last week that Knox Nursery – recipient of the Central Region license – faces questions about its bond.
Spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said an insurance company informed the Department of Health that it would revoke Knox Nursery's bond March 26. She said the department notified Knox its license would be withdrawn unless the applicant files a new bond by that date.
But GrowHealthy CEO Don Clifford said Monday that he doesn't expect that issue to derail Knox's application. He said the problem seems to be an administrative detail that Knox will be able to fix.
Clifford said his alliance and its lawyers are preparing for the April administrative hearing.
"We've requested a significant amount of information from the Department of Health, which they have yet to provide," he said, "and we've also requested a significant amount of information from Knox Nurseries, having to do with their application and statements."
The Department of Health has said it plans to move toward production and distribution even as hearings are scheduled to last into the summer.
But Clifford said lawyers for the challenging groups will seek injunctions prohibiting the department from moving forward before all is settled, arguing the Department of Health lacks the authority to act before the hearings are completed.
Florida's program is more than a year behind schedule in making medical marijuana available for patients. Meanwhile, some legislators, including Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, have filed bills proposing to expand the list of conditions that would make patients eligible for treatment. And a political group is expected to place a constitutional amendment on November's ballot that would allow medical use of marijuana in all forms, including smoked.
Clifford said GrowHealthy and its partners have spent about $5 million in renovations to a former mattress plant in Lake Wales. He said the company would be ready to begin production almost immediately if it received a license.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Florida: Lake Wales Company Prepares For Hearing On Cannabis Oil Program
Author: Gary White
Photo Credit: Dutch Passion
Website: The Ledger
A partnership that includes GrowHealthy, a Lake Wales firm, faces a hearing April 25 before a state administrative law judge. The alliance has challenged the decision of a three-member panel from the Florida Department of Health to award the license for the Central Region to another applicant, Knox Nursery of Winter Garden.
The application from GrowHealthy and its main partner, McCrory's Sunny Hill Nursery of Eustis, finished just 0.0041 points behind Knox Nursery in the judging released Nov. 23, when the Department of Health announced its awarding of licenses in five districts. The department analyzed submissions from 26 companies vying to produce cannabis oil through a program created by the Florida Legislature in 2014.
The Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act limits production to oils derived from marijuana plants bred to be low in THC, the compound that produces psychological effects. The law restricts use to patients with cancer, epilepsy, chronic seizures or chronic muscle spasms, and a doctor's recommendation is required.
The GrowHealthy partnership was one of 13 applicants to challenge the judges' decisions. Challenges were filed in all but the Southeast Region, in which Costa Nursery of Miami received the license.
A recent development seemed to bode well for GrowHealthy. All applicants were required to submit a $5 million performance bond, and word emerged last week that Knox Nursery – recipient of the Central Region license – faces questions about its bond.
Spokeswoman Mara Gambineri said an insurance company informed the Department of Health that it would revoke Knox Nursery's bond March 26. She said the department notified Knox its license would be withdrawn unless the applicant files a new bond by that date.
But GrowHealthy CEO Don Clifford said Monday that he doesn't expect that issue to derail Knox's application. He said the problem seems to be an administrative detail that Knox will be able to fix.
Clifford said his alliance and its lawyers are preparing for the April administrative hearing.
"We've requested a significant amount of information from the Department of Health, which they have yet to provide," he said, "and we've also requested a significant amount of information from Knox Nurseries, having to do with their application and statements."
The Department of Health has said it plans to move toward production and distribution even as hearings are scheduled to last into the summer.
But Clifford said lawyers for the challenging groups will seek injunctions prohibiting the department from moving forward before all is settled, arguing the Department of Health lacks the authority to act before the hearings are completed.
Florida's program is more than a year behind schedule in making medical marijuana available for patients. Meanwhile, some legislators, including Rep. John Wood, R-Winter Haven, have filed bills proposing to expand the list of conditions that would make patients eligible for treatment. And a political group is expected to place a constitutional amendment on November's ballot that would allow medical use of marijuana in all forms, including smoked.
Clifford said GrowHealthy and its partners have spent about $5 million in renovations to a former mattress plant in Lake Wales. He said the company would be ready to begin production almost immediately if it received a license.
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Florida: Lake Wales Company Prepares For Hearing On Cannabis Oil Program
Author: Gary White
Photo Credit: Dutch Passion
Website: The Ledger
