Commercial Interests Dominate Florida’s MMJ Committee

The Florida committee tasked with creating regulations governing the state’s CBD industry is heavy with commercial interests, but proponents are touting the members’ experience.

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The 12-member panel – which will help design rules on how to select, license and regulate the state’s cultivators and dispensaries – includes several people who are in a position to make money from passage of the law.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the committee will be composed of:

– Five growers who will probably compete for one of five regional licenses

– A nursery owner and a botanist

– A lobbyist for a product testing firm who also helped design laws in Colorado and Washington

– A patient advocate representative, a horticulturalist and an anesthesiologist

– A Tallahassee lawyer and the director of the state’s Office of Compassionate Use

Despite the fact that many of the panel members have a stake in the game, pro-cannabis proponents are hoping the appointments means patients will be able to finally get their hands on CBD products.

Florida’s law allows for the production and sale of high-CBD, low-THC oils. The first dispensaries were initially slated to open in January, but legal and regulatory delays have delayed the process.