Florida’s First Black Medical Marijuana License Recipient Will Have to Pay for the Privilege

The process was like the slow burn of a fatty (prescribed for medicinal use only, of course).

Last week, five years after Floridians voted to legalize medical marijuana in 2016, state officials announced an “emergency rule” that sets aside one medical marijuana license specifically for a Black farmer.

That might seem like a welcome measure to help bring equity to an industry criticized for disproportionately profiting white people, especially considering that Black Americans are more than 3.7 times more likely to be arrested for possession of marijuana than white people and that there are no Black medical marijuana operators in Florida.

But Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a former marijuana lobbyist and a current Democratic candidate for governor, expressed outrage at the news.

“The state of Florida today announced a new rule that will more than double fees ONLY for Black farmers applying for medical marijuana licenses,” reads the October 14 tweet. “This new rule is discriminatory and disgusting and needs to be revised immediately.”