Weed Could Swing Florida’s Gubernatorial Race – Will The Winner Finally Agree With Black Farmers?
Despite promises of admission, Florida’s only minority license holder is from another state.
Florida is home to most of the east coast cardholders (around 600,000). The state has a population similar to New York, but far more registered medical patients than the Empire State’s 150,000.
New York’s medical laws were enacted three years before Florida’s, so we’re not comparing apples to oranges here. The Sunshine State ranks second in the country after California when it comes to medical growth.
Despite the overwhelming patient population in Florida, the sale and use of recreational activities remain illegal nationwide. That means only 22 licensed medical operators care for over half a million patients in 200 retail locations.
And of Florida’s 22 legal licenses, only one is held by a Black or Brown owner. The state’s only minority-controlled license belongs to the multi-state operator Cookies, which originated on the west coast.
The lack of access, especially for Florida’s black farmers, shows a direct negligence of Amendment 2, which first brought medical cannabis into the state. Part of the law requires health officials to license at least one applicant involved in the state’s ongoing Pigford cases.
Florida’s ugly past with black farmers
The Pigford vs. Glickman case began in 1999 as a class action lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The case was on behalf of black farmers who alleged racial discrimination by the government.
A judge ordered the federal agency to pay nearly $ 1 billion to 13,300 farmers. Between 1981 and 1996, farmers were denied access to agricultural loans and grants. Another $ 1.2 billion was allocated to 70,000 farmers in the 2008 Pigford II Agreement.
The state had four years and nearly 85,000 potential Pigford farmers to choose from. So what’s stopping Florida health officials from finding a black farmer to carry out their already disappointing social justice measures?
It’s another chapter in the state’s centuries of neglect for Black Floridians.
Enslaved people and tenants built Florida’s economy on sugar, tobacco, and cotton. But practices like those described in the Pigford cases kept them out of the state’s fertile economy for decades.
Black and Brown legacy vendors who managed the state’s illegal markets are also waiting for a chance to join the industry they helped build. As they wait on the sidelines, corporate cartels and potential monopolies form under the governor’s nose.
Pot policy in the Sunshine State
It took the urgency of an upcoming election for incumbent Governor Ron DeSantis to stand up for the long-awaited Pigford candidates.
Last week, the governor’s government finally released plans for black cannabis growers to apply for a license to grow, process, and distribute medicinal cannabis.
The rollout did not specify a schedule for applications. The four-year gap in action and the shortage of available licenses were also not addressed.
DeSantis holds a modest lead over two 420-friendly challengers in next November’s race. That may be why he joins one of the few bipartisan problems in America.
According to a Redfin real estate survey, nearly half of Americans (46%) prefer to live or will only live in a state with legal cannabis. And the green vote extends across blue and red states, according to the data.
The Pew Research Center found that 72% of Democrats and 47% of Republicans support legalization for medical and recreational purposes. Gallup reported similar numbers by party (83% and 48%), as well as a five-point increase in the percentage of US adults who now consider “marijuana morally acceptable”.
With the Florida governor race coming to a boil, this is DeSantis’ last chance to take real action. His top priority should be to please the old farmers he let out of the booming new economy of the state.
Can democratic challengers pull the awesome vote?
DeSantis’ latest smoke screen could help create distance between 420-friendly challengers Charlie Crist and Nikki Fried.
Crist was governor of Florida from 2007 to 2009 and went without re-election. In 2012, the former Republican switched sides to support Barack Obama’s campaign. In 2014, he became a public advocate for cannabis legalization.
He is also close to prominent Florida businessman John Morgan, who funded the fight to legalize medicine with his group United for Care in 2014.
Last week, Crist hit the headlines when he announced his “Crist deal with Florida”.
The contract includes ideas for destruction, growing up to six plants for personal use, criminal law reform, expanded re-entry programs and tax revenue for the police, non-profit organizations and teachers.
Crist’s contract is not about what an adult-use market would look like under his leadership, including licensing for minority applicants.
Related
The new “Seeds of Change” report evaluates states on cannabis justice, finding that it is the most lacking
Fried rhymes with weed for good reason
Crist’s toughest competition on the left is Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, a state-popular proponent of the plant.
Fried took a position on Crist and DeSantis on Twitter last week, writing, “Imitation is flattery, but records are records. People went to jail for Republicans like @CharlieCrist supporting and enforcing racist laws over marijuana crimes. I’m glad he changed his mind, but none of these people get those years back. “
Fried’s Twitter account also cited a non-refundable application fee of $ 146,000 included in DeSantis’ latest plan for Pigford case applicants.
She tweeted, “Let’s not distract a former governor’s flip-flop press conference on marijuana from our current governor doubling fees for black farmers applying for a medical marijuana treatment center license. @GovRonDeSantis’ fee increase is discriminatory and should be repealed. “
Whoever wins has to pay fees
The past agricultural exploitation and marginalization in Florida cannot be remedied by court settlement or a special class of licenses. And the lack of action on small inclusion gestures like the Pigford cases does not inspire confidence in more substantial action.
The effects of slavery and participation have caused immeasurable damage to black farmers in southern America for centuries. As the state rides to unimaginable fortunes with its new harvest, the winner of the Florida governor race will be on the clock from day one. to use the power of our favorite magic plant responsibly.
Budding Mary Jane monopolies
Five years after Amendment 2 allowed medical use, the state cannabis agency, OMMU, asked for nearly $ 13 million in additional funding. The money will be used to double the workforce, promote medical uses, add transportation vehicles, and open regional offices, according to CBS Miami.
Florida has recently become home to the country’s largest cannabis retailer. Former competitor Harvest Health & Recreation Inc.’s $ 2.1 billion Truelieve deal
But as many constitutional states have already learned, healthy economies do not include monopolies. And it is much easier to incorporate social justice measures into laws from the start than to apply new rules to active markets.
Another addition to Amendment 2 from 2017 called on the state to add 19 more treatment centers to meet the increased demand.
The move should prevent the monopolies from sprouting up after the medical laws are passed. Similar to the Pigford licenses, these 19 new joints did not materialize five years later.
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