Seventy-four prospective operators applied for 22 medical cannabis licenses during a five-day application cycle that ended on April 28. The applications were a step toward doubling the number of businesses operating in the state’s legal cannabis industry.
In February, Florida Department of Health officials issued a long-awaited rule announcing they would accept applications for new licenses between April 24 and April 28. The applications were submitted more than six years after Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment broadly authorizing medical cannabis and after lawmakers in 2017 approved a framework for the industry.
Health officials on Tuesday confirmed they received 74 applications for the licenses. But the health agency has not released the names of the applicants or redacted versions of the applications. Florida has 22 licensed medical-cannabis operators and more than 800,000 registered patients.
The April round of applications was the first major opportunity for newcomers to the state’s industry to vie for licenses since the 2017 legislation passed. An earlier round of licenses was based on a 2014 law that legalized non-euphoric cannabis for a limited number of patients.
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