Pubdate: Wed, 16 Jul 2014
Source: Palm Beach Post, The (FL)
Copyright: 2014 The Palm Beach Post
Contact:  http://www.palmbeachpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/333
Author: Frank Cerabino
Page: B1

5 GROWERS MAY HIT ( JACK)POT WITH MEDICAL MARIJUANA

When I moved to Florida 30 years ago, it was for a job as a newspaper 
writer. If only I had a crystal ball. It would have told me to open a 
plant nursery - preferably someplace in Northeast Florida.

But short of a crystal ball, how was I to know?

Back in 1984, Florida didn't seem like a place where a guy could make 
a fortune growing marijuana legally.

But that's the way it's looking in 2014.

This spring, the state passed a law that would allow a non-euphoric 
strain of marijuana called Charlotte's Web to be used for treatment 
of epileptic seizures in children.

And in November, voters will decide in a statewide referendum whether 
the euphoric strains of marijuana should be legalized as a medicinal 
treatment for a variety of adult ailments, such as Parkinson's 
disease, glaucoma and cancer.

Where's all this marijuana going to come from? A small number of 
soon-to-be very fortunate Florida nurseries.

State legislators weren't in love with the idea of legalizing 
medicinal marijuana, and many of them were dragged reluctantly into 
the Charlotte's Web law. So they crafted a restrictive law.

Only five nurseries in the state will be allowed to grow marijuana, 
the legislators decided.

They divided the state into five regions, and sanctioned one grower 
in each of these regions to be designated as the sole source of 
legally grown marijuana.

And then to prevent a stampede of people getting into the nursery 
business, the lawmakers decided that to be eligible to grow legal 
marijuana, the nursery had to be operating for the past 30 years.

There are about four dozen nurseries across the state that have been 
in business this long and meet the other eligibility requirements. 
(Who knows? Maybe they had crystal balls?)

The lucky five will be selected by lottery, the lawmakers decided.

If your nursery is in Central Florida, it has less than a 10 percent 
chance of winning the lottery.

It's slightly better in Southeast Florida, but your chances really 
improve in the Northeast Florida region, where there are only two 
eligible nurseries.

As it stands now, there might not seem to be a lot of money in 
growing marijuana legally. The Charlotte's Web treatment was 
pioneered in Colorado, and by the end of last year, only 199 children 
were registered in Colorado as patients receiving the drug.

So if Florida ends up with similar numbers, nurseries aren't going to 
get rich growing pot for such a relatively small number of children. 
Especially considering that, if selected, the nursery would have to 
pay a $150,000 application fee to the state.

Then why was there a standing-room-only crowd of eager lobbyists, 
businessmen and growers at a recent marijuana law workshop meeting at 
the Florida Department of Health in Tallahassee?

It's because they're looking beyond the children needing Charlotte's 
Web and toward the November vote, which would suddenly create a 
market for legally grown marijuana to treat hundreds of thousands of 
the state's seniors.

It's why eligible growers are getting offers from would-be business 
partners and why the state is being pressured to allow more growers 
to be selected and to replace the lottery system with one that would 
allow growers to be selected by merit.

Or by the right connection.

It's a clear sign of a new multimillion-dollar business starting to take root.

And if you were lucky enough to get in the nursery business 30 years 
ago, you'd be in the middle of it.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom