Gov. Ron DeSantis has agreed to change the law to abate legal wrangling over medical marijuana licenses for Black farmers. It's the second time in as many years the Governor approved changes to the state's medical marijuana licensure laws for Black farmers.
At least three Black farmers tied to what is known as the "Pigford" litigation will benefit from the changes. That's according to Sen. Tracie Davis, a Jacksonville Democrat who helped champion the 2024 changes included in SB 1582, an omnibus bill related to the Department of Health (DOH).
The new law gives Black farmers who applied for licenses under a 2023 law another 90 days to cure any errors or omissions on medical marijuana applications they submitted to the state.
The new measure also makes clear that if a Black farmer applicant died after March 25, 2022, their death may not be used as a reason to deny the application or any resulting legal challenges.
Davis said that language should benefit Henry Crusaw and Leola Robinson, two elderly Black farmers who could not previously meet the state's standards.
When Florida first launched its medical marijuana licensing program, none of the first dispensaries were minority-owned, despite a statutory requirement that a license be awarded to Black farmers known as Pigford-class farmers, a name stemming from a federal lawsuit.
The state ultimately awarded a medical marijuana license to Black farmer Terry Gwinn. But another 11 applicants for that permit who were denied sued the state for discrimination.
Lawmakers tried to sidestep the legal wrangling in 2023 by passing legislation that was aimed at resolving the outstanding licensure issues for the 11 other applicants by requiring DOH to issue licenses to applicants who corrected the deficiencies in their applications. The bill also gave any applicant who had deficiencies 90 days to cure that deficiency.
DOH only issued three new licenses to the applicants following the 2023 law.
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