What Is Governor DeSantis Smoking Wants To Raise Licensing Fees For Cannabis Dispensaries

Deerfield-News.com-Deerfield Beach,Fl-In the moment the 22 licensed Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers that operate in Florida pay $60,000 every two years for their respective licenses.

Now Florida’s Department of Health Office Of Medical Marijuana Use wants to raise that number to $1,300,000 every two years.

Some thought Florida’s early limitation to only 22 licensed MMTC’s is also anticompetitive and makes it difficult to enter the Florida market. Certainly raising the fee to get a license  to $650,000 a year will  do that.The Governor has stated that the licenses are valuable so why shouldn’t they pay more.

Raisng the fee to $650,000 year certainly will make it even more difficult for smaller operators to enter the marketplace.Most of Florida’s MMTC’s are publicly traded companies as opposed to mom and pop owned shops.

Many doctors in Florida are concerned that the increased cost to dispensaries will eventually lead to higher prices for their patients at dispensaries.Patients currently pay $75 a year to the State of Florida for a medical marijuana  card.

Licensed medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) are vertically integrated and are the only businesses in Florida authorized to dispense medical marijuana and low-THC cannabis to qualified patients and caregivers. Each MMTC must receive authorization at three stages, (1) cultivation authorization, (2) processing authorization and (3) dispensing authorization, prior to dispensing low-THC cannabis or medical marijuana.

Florida’s medical marijuana industry is vertically integrated. Meaning each of the licensed operators must produce,distribute and handle all of their operations from seed to retail sale.None of the operators may switch or trade inventory of any of their products to another licensed facility. Example if Rise which is owned by Green Thumb Industries  needed inventory on a flower product they can not call MUV another licensed MMTC and trade inventory.

Many have questioned why only 22 licenses were issued as that low number of operators thwarts competition.That said compared to other states Florida’s medical marijuana program is successful. The 22 current operators of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries are listed below.

Nine of the 22 have retail stores in Deerfield Beach. The city had authorized 10 and apparently MedMen who was supposed to be near the beach  ran into financial difficulties.

1-Curaleaf

2-Fluent

3-GrowHealthy

4-GTI/Rise

5-Jungle Boys

6-Muv

7-Surterra/wellness

8-Trulieve

9-Vidacann

All have retail Cannabis dispensaries in the city of Deerfield Beach.