marijuana

Two Black farmers have received licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana, after a new state law helped clear the way for the long-awaited licenses.

Backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow recreational use of marijuana in Florida hope to place the initiative on the 2024 ballot.

Gov. Ron DeSantis is slated to review a bill that would give Black farmers an entry into Florida’s now-flourishing medical-marijuana industry.

Under the emergency rule released Friday, 22 licenses will be available, adding to the 22 currently licensed operators. The state will accept applications April 24-28.

Right-leaning states moved to make ballot measures tougher to pass after success of voter initiatives on abortion rights, marijuana and Medicaid expansion. That's led to pushback from state lawmakers.

Moton Hopkins was among a dozen farmers and their teams who sought a medical-marijuana license designated in Florida law for a Black farmer who participated in class-action lawsuits over lending discrimination by the federal government.

The Canadian study, although limited, raises a red flag amid increased use of the drug and more states legalizing it for recreational or medical use.

Voters in Missouri and Maryland approved adult-use recreational pot, but similar measures were rejected in Arkansas and the Dakotas.

The discrimination the set-aside license was meant to redress created obstacles for Frederick Fisher obtain it. This is Fisher’s story as he told oral historians in 2017, as he swore this year in his application and as he tells it now.

A Tampa-based orchid grower has filed a lawsuit accusing the Florida Department of Health of violating the state Constitution by delaying the issuance of nearly two-dozen medical marijuana licenses.

Voters in Missouri, Arkansas, North Dakota, South Dakota and Maryland will vote on legalizing recreational marijuana. Nineteen states and D.C. have approved adult cannabis possession and consumption.

Experts hailed the move as an important first step in righting the wrongs from decades of uneven drug enforcement policy.