Number of dispensaries to grow
Credit: tvirbickis
Another state program that is growing by leaps and bounds is Florida’s medical marijuana program, created by the 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana use. More than 620,000 Floridians today are qualified for prescriptions and that number is expected to grow to more than 900,000 within the next two years.
So the Department of Health is obliged by law to accordingly increase the number of medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) in the state. Their plan to is to issue up to 27 new licenses, from the current 22 to 49, which would more than double the availability of legal cannabis in Florida.
The Department of Health is also seeking nearly $13 million to more than double the Office of Medical Marijuana Use’s (OMMU) current 80-person staff to 165 employees to handle what it expects will be a big surge in medical marijuana sales in the next few years. It’s requesting $4 million to publicize “accurate information” about medical marijuana and open three regional OMMU offices, and $2.15 million for litigation-related expenses.
Legal cannabis products comprise a $1.3 billion industry in Florida. The industry created nearly 15,000 jobs and generated nearly $1.23 billion in taxable sales in 2020, according to Arcview Market Research. It projects the industry could generate $6 billion in Florida sales by 2030.
LMA Newsletter of 11-29-21
