Florida Medical Marijuana Facilities

Florida Makes Emergency Rules on Businesses’ Medical Marijuana Applications

After nearly ten years of waiting, The Florida Department of Health has finally released its guidelines on the application process for businesses to enter the state’s medical marijuana industry.

But there’s a catch. The guidelines are temporary emergency rules, not the permanent framework to use going forward.

The Department of Health, which regulates the state’s multibillion-dollar medical marijuana industry, released the two emergency rules on Monday. The rules paint the broad strokes of the application process for companies seeking a medical marijuana treatment center license. The license permits them to cultivate, process, and dispense medical marijuana. Until this point, businesses looking to enter the thriving industry had little luck.

Because of slow litigation and red tape on the part of the state, just 22 companies are currently licensed to operate in Florida’s medical marijuana industry, and only 19 have set up a store. Of course we have one in Lake Worth Beach.

The second newly published rule makes it even more expensive for marijuana businesses to renew their licenses every two years, raising the cost from about $60,000 to more than $1 million.

Read more about it...

Academy for Positive Learning

Charter school principal says she's moving because of medical marijuana dispensary

If you have to come up with a reason I would suppose that is as good as any. But we all know that the County will not be giving any money to Charter Schools...they won’t get the $20 million from the tax hike OK’d by voters.

"The Senate on Thursday removed the charter school issue from the tax bill. That led to negotiations to limit the charter school proposal to future referendums. The end product focused on referendums that will be held after July 1 and would require counties to negotiate with charter schools the distribution of approved tax dollars." [PBPost]

Read about it... and the Academy of Positive Learning on North Dixie Highway in Lake Worth that is located directly across the street from a marijuana dispensary.

Smokable Marijuana hits Lake Worth

LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) —

Smokable medical marijuana is hitting the shelves at local dispensaries.

A small jar costs from $37 to $57. The new law limits patients to 2½ ounces of marijuana per 35 days. Patients take it home and roll their own cigarettes with it. This smokable form is a new way to get it in Florida, besides vapes and oils.

Read more about it...

Soon we will see some real zombies walking around town.

Smoking Medical Marijuana in Florida Condo

Judge rules medical marijuana can now be smoked in Florida

Lake Worth bans future medical marijuana dispensaries

In spite of three residents speaking FOR more dispensaries within the city, the top arguments against this were from Mayor Pam Triolo and Commissioner Scott Maxwell.

The most compelling argument of the night was from Commissioner Scott Maxwell. Go to about 1 hour and 18 minutes into the video to see what he said.


Once again, commissioner Omari Hardy was the lone dissenting vote on this Second Public Hearing.

Lake Worth votes on banning more Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

On a First Reading and a 4/1 vote with Commissioner Omari Hardy dissenting, future medical marijuana dispensaries are banned--one more reading to go on September 13 to ban additional dispensaries forever.

Hardy wanted the option to have medical marijuana dispensaries west of I-95. Why this would be advantageous to medical marijuana users when they can travel just a short distance to one of the two dispensaries in operation and the simple fact that these dispensaries deliver, was not a compelling argument to allow more to operate within our city.

As we have a population of 36,836, according to the chart below, we have more dispensaries than we need. As Scott Maxwell said, "the number of people needing medical marijuana is finite...we don't need a gross of dispensaries in our city. No one will be denied access," he said.

More Medical Marijuana facilities in Lake Worth?

TITLE:
Ordinance No. 2018-12 - First Reading - banning Medical Marijuana Treatment Center Dispensing Facilities within the City of Lake Worth and and setting the second reading and public hearing for September 13, 2018

SUMMARY:
First reading of an ordinance to ban Medical Marijuana Treatment Center Dispensing Facilities within the City of Lake Worth and setting the second reading and public hearing for September 13, 2018.

We already have two facilities in Lake Worth. Two is more than enough.

However, and I had to read this several times thinking I had made a big mistake,

• the City’s Planning & Zoning Board (PZB) recommended to the City Commission that the ordinance be denied in a 5-2 vote.

• The City’s Historic Resources Preservation Board (HRPB) recommended to the City Commission that the amendment be denied in a 4-0 vote.

Medical Marijuana is snow-balling as predicted

I can see it now--every pot head will be smoking dope, walking down Lake Avenue to get tattooed.  How many times have I said that passing medical marijuana would be the first step in the use of recreational marijuana use.

Judge calls amendment to Florida's ban on smoking medical marijuana unconstitutional

I thought President Trump was appointing conservative judges.

Read about it...

Moratorium on Medical Marijuana dispensaries about to expire

From the city's backup and on tonight's Agenda:

On March 21, 2017, the City Commission adopted Ordinance No. 2017-05 to establish a moratorium on applications, confirmation letters, business licenses, development orders and permits involving uses relating to medical marijuana. This moratorium went into effect on March 31, 2017 and will expire on March 31, 2018.

The City doesn't want to get caught with its pants down again so they say that "Due to issues that have arisen regarding the appropriateness and regulation of such uses and the possibility of further regulations being imposed by the State, a moratorium extension is provided herein to allow the City more time to study the issues and bring their resolution back to the Commission for consideration."

The City is asking for a six month extension.

Lake Worth made the wrong choice

Lake Worth made the wrong choice on allowing a medical marijuana dispensary to locate right across the street from a charter school, the Academy of Positive Learning.

The editor of the Palm Beach Post, Rick Christie, says, "There was indeed a choice: the city wanted either an A-rated public school at that location or a medical pot shop. It looks like the city just made the wrong choice; which was to do nothing."

Read the editorial...

Curaleaf Medical Marijuana Dispensary opens in Lake Worth

Curaleaf is the name of the dispensary...gotta love it.

Lake Worth marijuana dispensary opens, parents say wrong message being sent

The second dispensary now opened this morning in Lake Worth directly across from a Charter School

Read about it...

Medical Marijuana Dispensary to open in Lake Worth

Get prepared all you pot users. Lake Worth has the proud distinction of having the first medical marijuana dispensary in Palm Beach County to open at Noon on Tuesday at 1 South Dixie Highway directly across from City Hall, right in the heart of our city.

Knox Medical is head-quarterd in Miami. They say that "they are committed to ensuring that patients can access consistent and pure medical marijuana, in a professional setting, from the highest level of industry experts." The state has licensed seven organizations to grow, distribute and sell it. Approved doctors are charging around $200 for a patient visit in order to get a prescription and there is a 90 day waiting period for pot patients.

Some 250 counties and municipalities in Florida have blocked pot shops from opening within their borders.[PBPost] And unlike other municipalities, Lake Worth didn't pass a moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries until March 2017. Too late for this one and the one that is going up on North Dixie Highway directly across from a Charter School.

And guess what...you won't have to pay any sales tax on this stuff. We are going to be amazed at all the people in pain roaming around our town.

Medical marijuana dispensary and now a medical marijuana doctor's office right near Charter School. People are fuming.

New developments about a medical marijuana dispensary set to open steps from a charter school.

Now a medical marijuana doctor is opening an office on the same block, fueling fears of crime and danger for children.  Everyone in Lake Worth should be concerned.

Look to the city commission to give some plausible explanation.

Read about it...

Boynton Beach votes to have Medical Marijuana dispensaries

Last night on a 3/2 vote, Boynton Beach did something really stupid...they voted to have medical marijuana dispensaries. In August, they passed a motion that said they needed to vote two additional times in order to pass an ordinance to regulate them. The next vote is in November.

Gov. Rick Scott signed a law that went into effect July 1. It said that cities can't limit the number of shops in town. And state law says rules for locating dispensaries can't be tougher than those for pharmacies such as CVS and Walgreens.

Read about it... You won't believe it. There is another city as offbeat as Lake Worth.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

We are one of two cities in the entire county allowing medical marijuana dispensaries. And we will be the first city to have one opened for business. So far, six cities have banned them altogether.

What is the problem?

They have to be regulated like pharmacies or banned completely. So, since the present commission allowed FOR them, we cannot control the number of pot dispensaries that open nor can we dictate their hours of operation or where they are located, according to today's article in the Palm Beach Post.

If true, does this remind you of the Sober Home fiasco with owners opening them on every block in Lake Worth? We have a drug epidemic. Now with pot dispensaries allowed to open anywhere, will we have the same untenable situation?

Back in July, a few residents had something to say about it...Click here... Andy Amoroso said two was enough and Sarah Malega, running for District 1 commissioner, gave a politically smart answer.

Lake Worth's New Claim to Fame - We're the First!

The city of Lake Worth can always claim that it is first at something--

It’s official: The Florida Department of Health has signed off on Palm Beach County’s first medical marijuana treatment center.

Adjacent to City Hall in our downtown.

Read about it...

Delray Beach bans Medical Marijuana dispensaries

Consumers will all be coming to Lake Worth.

Read about Delray Beach...

Fix up your mess, Commissioners

Every now and then it happens...I agree with the PB Post editorial.

"Lake Worth’s elected officials must get off the sidelines and clean up this mess they created. The city can’t be seen as failing to place a high enough priority on public school education. And despite the benefits of medical marijuana, that is likely where this image fiasco is headed."

Read more...about the medical marijuana dispensary locating across the street from the Academy of Positive Learning.

Pot dispensary says they are "grandfathered"

While reading Kevin Thompson's article regarding the pot dispensary locating across Dixie Highway and 200 feet from the Academy of Positive Learning, this is what Chief Executive Gregg Roberts of Modern Health Concepts said: "While state law says medical marijuana dispensaries must be 500 feet from schools..the site is “grandfathered in” because the company won approval before the state enacted the law."

What comes to my mind is our Heights referendum for downtown Lake Worth. If the medical marijuana dispensary is grandfathered in, why wasn't our vote? The vote is the most powerful instrument ever devised by man for breaking down injustice but it was totally discarded and thrown down the toilet in Lake Worth thanks to bad politics and commissioners who were determined to get their way. The hell with the voters.

If you recall, our city attorney, Glen Torcivia, gave a legal opinion agreeing with the majority commission that wanted higher buildings in our downtown. He determined that our heights referendum election held on March 12, 2013 was null and void due to HB 537 signed by Governor Rick Scott three months after the election.

People say the answer is to "vote the bums out." That's about the only solution, however, the longer they are in, the harder it is to get them out of power. Politics is corrupt. I think it's time for term limits.

Medical Marijuana Dispensaries

In an article on the front page of the Palm Beach Post today, "Medical Pot shops one step closer one thing became obvious to me--I doubt that Lake Worth will ever discourage any legal business. As long as Lake Worth can get taxes, all is cool. Lake Worth will be attracting folks from other cities to visit us. Pot heads from all over will descend upon our city.  I don't think this is the type of "tourism" most of us have in mind.

What the article revealed is:

1. 3 cities have banned medical marijuana dispensaries
2. Boynton Beach on a 3/2 vote is allowing them under the State guidelines
   
3. 11 cities are considering a ban
4. 7 cities are considering regulations. Lake Worth falls into category number 4, however regulations here would be the same as for pharmacies.

My fear is that these dispensaries will pop up in Lake Worth like the Sober Home epidemic and we know what sort of problems they have caused.