A Florida administrative law judge has rebuked the state’s department of health and is recommending that the agency issue a seventh medical CBD production license to an applicant that wasn’t awarded a permit last year.
Judge John Van Laningham found that one of the five license winners from last year, Alpha Foliage, didn’t meet the legal criteria outlined in Florida law and therefore shouldn’t have received a permit, Orlando Weekly reported.
If Gov. Rick Scott’s administration doesn’t dispute Van Laningham’s recommendation, then it’s likely that either Three Boys or Plants of Ruskin will receive the seventh license. Both applicants lost out last year and subsequently filed legal challenges.
A change in state law this year mandates that any applicant that files a successful legal challenge to the department’s decision will receive a CBD license, while allowing the original winners to keep their licenses as well.
Van Laningham said he intends to score both Three Boys and Plants of Ruskins’ applications himself, because the health department ignored its own rules during the evaluation process.
