Tag Archive for: amendment 2

A New York-based company has purchased a Central Florida pot operation for $43 million in cash and stock, amid expectations that the industry will explode following the voter-approved legalization of medical marijuana more than a year ago.

iAnthus Capital Management purchased the assets of GrowHealthy Holdings, a Lake Wales marijuana operator affiliated with McCroryā€™s Sunny Hill Nursery, except for the marijuana license. The transfer of ownership of the license is pending approval by the state Department of Health.

Under the deal, which involves the marijuana operator and its affiliated businesses, iAnthus is paying GrowHealthy $12.5 million for its Lake Wales real estate and 200,000-square-foot cultivation and processing facility. GrowHealthy, one of the stateā€™s 13 licensed medical marijuana operators, will also receive $30 million worth of shares in iAnthus, which is traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. iAnthus will also purchase the Lake Wales companyā€™s $5 million bond, required by the state for all marijuana operators.

The New York company also owns marijuana operations in Massachusetts, Vermont, Colorado and New Mexico and has a pending acquisition in New York, according to iAnthus President Randy Maslow.

ā€œFlorida is really going to be our number one operation, in terms of size and everything else,ā€ Maslow said.

GrowHealthy started distributing marijuana to patients via delivery in November but has not opened a retail dispensary.

According to a newsĀ release announcing the deal, the company is planning to open a dispensary in Palm Beach County later this year.

“As one of the largest states in the U.S. with a population of nearly 21 million people and favorable demographics, Florida and its medical cannabis market provide a tremendous opportunity for iAnthus and its shareholders. The state’s population includes a large percentage of older adults who can derive significant benefits from medical cannabis, and the Florida program has witnessed a rapid rise in its registered patient base since passage of the law,” Maslow said in the release.

Voters in November 2016 approved a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana and helped fuel a battle for a limited number of licenses. About 45,000 patients have received state-issued identification cards allowing them to purchase the marijuana treatment, but the number is expected to dramatically increase in coming years.

 

Source: WUSF News

Wellingtonā€™s village council will hold a second and final hearing on Jan. 8th evening regardingĀ a proposed zoning change that would allow medical marijuana dispensaries in the village, with restrictions.

Because state law requires local governments to treat medical pot dispensaries no differently than pharmacies, the new zoning rules would apply to both pharmacies and dispensaries.

If the measure passes, dispensaries and pharmacies would need to be a minimum of 10,000 square feet, and they would not be allowed within 1,000 feet of a primary or secondary school. Also, one pharmacy or dispensary would be allowed per shopping center, with an exception for pharmacies in grocery stores.

The size, number and distance restrictions would be waived for pharmacies or dispensaries along State Road 7 in standalone buildings or in plazas with frontage on that road.

If the proposed changes are approved, Wellington would be the first municipality in Palm Beach County to change its pharmacy zoning to determine where medical marijuana dispensaries may be built.

InĀ an initial vote on Nov. 14, the council moved 3-2 to approve the changes, with Mayor Anne Gerwig and Councilman Michael Drahos dissenting.

At that meeting, Drahos noted that while 72 percent of Wellington voters supported Amendment 2 in November 2016 to legalize medical pot in Florida, they may not necessarily want dispensaries in the village.

ā€œPeople like the idea, they just donā€™t necessarily want it in their backyard,ā€ Drahos said.

But with Wellington ā€œessentially at built-out,ā€ Vice Mayor John McGovern said the village is in a unique position to direct where dispensaries can be located ā€” essentially, the Southern Boulevard corridor.

There will be public comment as part of the hearing. Also at the meeting, the council will discuss an application for a seasonal permit at Polo West Golf Club, three ordinances to continue the villageā€™s work to streamline its land-development regulations and approval of a contract for a housing and economic impact study.

 

Source: Palm Beach Post