Florida Cannabis License Guidelines

Office of Medical Marijuana Use

Licensing and Enforcement Criteria

The diligent professionals at the Office of Medical Marijuana (OMMU) work hard to provide physicians, their qualified patients, and those patients caregivers, the information and the resources needed to access Florida’s licensed medical program.  The OMMU is responsible for writing and implementing the Department of Health’s laws regarding the use of licensed medical cannabis; overseeing the statewide Medical Marijuana Use Registry which is a secure, online database for the registration of licensed physicians and patients.

The OMMU also licenses Florida businesses to cultivate, process and dispense licensed medical cannabis to qualified patients and certifies cannabis testing laboratories to ensure the health and safety of the public as it relates to licensed medical cannabis.

A medical marijuana treatment center (MMTC) must, at all times, maintain compliance with the criteria demonstrated and representations made in its initial application. Upon request, the Florida Department of Health may grant a MMTC a variance from the representations made in the initial application. Consideration of such a request will be based upon the individual facts and circumstances surrounding the request. A variance may not be granted unless the requesting MMTC can demonstrate to the department of Health that it has a proposed alternative to the specific representation made in its application which fulfills the same or a similar purpose as the specific representation in a way that the department can reasonably determine will not be a lower standard than the specific representation in the application.

The department may suspend or revoke an MMTC license, or refuse to renew an MMTC license, if the department finds that an MMTC committed a violation as provided in Section 381.986(10)(f), F.S. For any such violation, the department may revoke or suspend an MMTC’s license for a period of time based upon the seriousness of the violation. Factors to be considered in determining the seriousness of the violation include:

  • Frequency or number of occurrences;
  • Potential for rehabilitation;
  • Any prior violations;
  • Impact on the department;
  • Potential and/or actual harm to a qualified patient or a member of the public; 
  • Willfulness and deliberateness of the violation;
  • Severity of noncompliance;
  • Length of noncompliance; 
  • Any good faith effort made to prevent a violation; and
  • Any corrective action taken by the MMTC related to the current violation or prior violations.

Florida Law & Compliance

Several laws and ordinances regulate the Florida medical and recreational cannabis industry, as well as the many different steps in the supply chain. These laws range over dispositions for cultivators, manufacturers, distributors and retail dispensaries. The most recent news can be found on these websites:

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FAQs

How do I apply to open a MMTC?

The Department is currently in the process of rule-making and is not accepting applications for MMTCs at this time. To learn more about rule-making for Amendment 2, please click here. The department will refer any business or individual suspected of violating state law to local law enforcement for investigation. It is important to remember marijuana is illegal under federal law.

Now that medical cannabis is legal, where can I purchase my marijuana once I have a medical card?

Licensed medical marijuana treatment centers (MMTCs) are vertically integrated and are the only businesses in Florida authorized to dispense medical marijuana and low-THC cannabis to qualified patients and caregivers. Each MMTC must receive authorization at three stages prior to dispensing low-THC cannabis or medical marijuana:

  1. Cultivation authorization
  2. Processing authorization
  3. Dispensing authorization

Where can I stay up to date on the rule-making notices of the OMMU?

All rule-making notices, notices of hearings and notices of workshops can be found in the Department of State Florida Administrative Register (FAR).

What penalties can a MMTC expect if proper procedure is not followed or laws are broken?

The department may, in addition to or in lieu of suspension, revocation, and any other penalties imposed under this chapter, impose a fine of up to $10,000 per violation, as set forth in the schedule provided in subsection (9). The schedule of fines is meant to serve as a guideline. The department will use the factors set forth in subsection (2) to determine the amount of the fine to impose within the range outlined in the schedule. The maximum fines listed in the schedule reflect the maximum fines that the department may impose per violation. Where there are multiple incidents resulting in more than one violation of the same provision, the department may impose a fine, up to the maximum, for each violation. For violations that are ongoing and continuous in nature, each day a violation continues constitutes a distinct violation.

New cannabis product is ready at the cultivation site, can it be transported directly to the MMTC?

No, a  MMTC must contact a Certified Marijuana Testing Laboratory (CMTL) and arrange for the CMTL to select and collect a random and representative sample of Final Product from every Retail Batch for regulatory compliance testing from an MMTC’s department-approved processing facility or department-approved fulfillment and storage facility.

Florida Cannabis License Types

Medical Marijuana Treatment Center

Licensed dispensary that sells cultivated cannabis products from a verified grow that has been tested and approved by a CMTL.

Certified Marijuana Testing Laboratory

Testing facility to verify the strength and to test against unsatisfactory product.

Cultivation Farm

Licensed farm that has been verified through the OMMU confirming all proper safeguards have been implemented and used for all cannabis grows.

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