Thank you for your coverage on the implementation of Amendment 2, which overwhelmingly passed last November. You are correct in stating that the Legislature seems to be ignoring the will of the people regarding medical marijuana and instead has been focusing on the will of the minority. There has been lack of coverage exposing the ongoing developments and lack of representation of the majority. I would like to add one more very disturbing fact that has been missing from the conversation. The Legislature has spent a lot of time trying to limit the size of the industry by restricting additional licensees from entering the marketplace. Most, if not all, of the new licenses would be issued only after an unprecedented amount of patients are registered under the new program. While the Legislature’s rationale is to control the growth of the market, they are, in fact, doing the opposite. The proposed law places no limit on the number of dispensary storefronts, grow facilities, or processing facilities a license holder may open. As a result, the existing seven licensees (licensed under the prior “Charlotte’s Web” law) will have an unlimited license to open as many facilities as they please. How does that limit the expansion of the industry? It doesn’t. It only limits the participants in the medical marijuana industry to the detriment of the patients of Florida. Essentially, the Legislature is attempting to hand over the entire industry (projected to be valued at over $1 billion dollars) to a select few […]