If you want to go to a medical marijuana dispensary in Florida, you won't find them as plentiful as Colorado. The new rules passed by Hillsborough County states that cannabis dispensaries are not allowed to operate near schools, bars, or other places such as churches and public parks. But the biggest problem is the limitation of licensed marijuana dispensaries and licenses. However, Commissioner Kemp helped make the process easier.
Thanks Kemp
Commissioner Pat Kemp won majority vote from her colleagues in Florida's Congress to strip provisions that limit the number of dispensaries to 13 in Hillsborough County.
The 4-3 vote shocked everyone. But Kemp didn't stop there, she won majority vote for an amendment that could revoke the number of licenses based on a point system. This amendment worked well for those licensed dispensaries that are currently recognized by the state of Florida.
"I don't think we should be spending our taxpayer dollars to create this entire licensing scheme," Commissioner Kemp told Tampa Bay Times. However, the Commissioners voted unanimously on enabling these dispensaries to work in Hillsborough County with a few restrictions.
Dispensaries
Kemp's victories were celebrated by advocates for medical marijuana access that were not in favor of a controlled dispensary system. Kemp wants people to have access to alternative medicine, she just wants it to be cheaper and cost-effective than highly over-gouged.
Kemp's decision comes from the Florida Department of Health considering allowing more people to be licensed in the state. The Health Department offered a 30-day window for people to apply for a license to dispense and sell cannabis. But the problem with that was the approval period would have closed long before the decision to expand the cannabis program were to be continued.
As stated in the application process, a person could apply for a license if there were 67,000 people residing in unincorporated areas.
But when Kemp's amendment passed, people who want to apply for a license can and they don't have to jump through anymore hoops. If you apply for a license in Hillsborough County, you can set up shop while the process is ongoing.
However, you won't be able to sell your products until the license has been approved.
Licensed cannabis dispensers still cannot set up shop within 750 feet of other dispensaries, schools, churches, parks and liquor stores or any place that sells alcohol. Dispensaries have only a few options to set up shop: North of the Tampa International Airport, east of Orient Road in Tampa and south of Temple Terrace.
