The Florida ban preventing medical marijuana patients from smoking cannabis was snuffed out.

On May 25, Leon County Circuit Court Judge Karen Gievers ruled that the state’s ban on smokable cannabis violates the state constitution.
 
In her 22-page ruling, Judge Gievers wrote, “Qualifying patients have the right to use the form of medical marijuana for treatment of their debilitating medical conditions as recommended by their certified physicians, including the use of smokable marijuana in private places.”
 
She added that the state law banning medical marijuana from being smoked is “invalid and unenforceable,” and said that it was in conflict with the constitutional amendment voters approved in 2016 that lets qualified patients legally use cannabis.
 
According to a statement by the Florida’s Department of Health, it has already appealed the ruling which imposes an automatic stay. David Galetta, a spokesperson for the department, said in a statement to the Associated Press that this ruling “goes against what the legislature outlined when they wrote and approved the law to implement the constitutional amendment that was approved.”
 
Medical marijuana advocates across the state praised the ruling as a victory for Floridian patients.
 
Ben Pollara, head of the nonprofit medical marijuana advocacy group Florida for Care, called the ruling a big victory for patients and voters.
 
In a tweet posted just after the ruling, the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida called it “an important ruling to allow physicians and their patients to decide the best way to administer medicine to alleviate their medical condition symptoms in the privacy of their own homes.”
 
In 2016, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment to allow use of medical marijuana as a treatment for patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and multiple sclerosis.
 
The only mention of smoking in the legislation is that the state legislature and local governments could restrict it in public places. But in June 2017, the legislature passed enacting laws which banned the sale of smoking products, citing a health risk. The law stated that patients could use cannabis through vaping and also in food, oils, sprays and tinctures.
 
 
But the legal battle will continue. The next step is Florida 1st District Court of Appeal in Tallahassee. This is the second medical marijuana case that court will be hearing after Judge Gievers ruled in April that a Tampa man, Joe Redner, is entitled under state law to possess, grow and use medical marijuana for juicing purposes. Redner was prescribed juicing treatments from his physician in order to prevent his stage 4 lung cancer, now in remission, from recurring.
 
In related cannabis news, businesses looking to enter Florida’s pot industry recently warned state health officials at a hearing about the many flaws a proposed rule increasing the number of medical marijuana operators.
 
The proposed rule was released last month and set in motion the application process for four highly sought-after medical marijuana licenses. The state has already issued licenses to 13 operators but has yet to begin accepting applications for the four new licenses. The law requires one of the new licenses to be given to an African-American farmer who was involved in federal litigation about discriminatory lending practices.
 
The law also requires state health officials to give preference for up to two licenses to applicants who “own one or more facilities that are, or were, used for the canning, concentrating, or otherwise processing of citrus fruit or citrus molasses and will use or convert the facility or facilities for the processing of marijuana.”
 
The citrus preference cited is now one of several marijuana-related court challenges pending. During the public testimony on May 24, most of the complaints were about this citrus-related language in the proposed rule. Attorney Seann Frazier said the proposed regulation substituted the word “property” for “facilities,” which adds vagueness and could possibly broaden the language in the statute which is something the agency is not allowed to do.
 
In addition, the proposed rule gives the two highest-scoring applicants eligible for the citrus preference an extra 35 points, in addition to a total of 1,150 possible points available to all applicants. Some of the applicants expressed a desire to give more weight to the citrus preference.
 
Other attendees at the hearing voiced their displeasure about the page limits imposed in the proposed rule which could prevent applicants from providing information, such as how many dispensaries they plan to open.
 
After the hearing, the public has a week to submit comments on the proposed rule and 10 days to file administrative challenges. If there are no challenges, the Office of Medical Marijuana Use could begin accepting applications by mid-July.


As Florida businesses begin to embrace the burgeoning cannabis industry, it’s important for owners to understand that even though they may already have liability insurance, it may not cover cannabis-related issues. Not only do those who produce and sell medical marijuana need to protect themselves, but so do companies that provide professional or consulting services.

“While most companies might assume that they are covered under their general liability policies, if cannabis isn’t specifically included, they’re not,” explained Kassie Fernandez, founder and president of Evolution Insurance Solutions. “Those who grow and dispense cannabis know that they need this type of insurance, but many attorneys, doctors, accountants, and consultants aren’t aware that they’re at risk.”
 
Based in Davie, FL, Evolution Insurance Solutions offers a range of insurance products including business liability and commercial property coverage, but its main focus is on cannabis coverage. Fernandez and partner Heather Larrea, with a combined 30 years of insurance experience, started Evolution to provide education as well as comprehensive coverage to meet the unique needs of clients in this expanding field.
 
“Cannabis is such a movement, but there’s very limited, or conflicting information available,” said Fernandez, adding that only a handful of agents in the state of Florida provide cannabis coverage, with only two south of Ocala. “We work with cannabis lawyers, accountants, doctors and businesses to educate them on general liability, professional liability and product liability – we cover everything from seed to sale.”
 
Evolution works with A-rated carriers out of California to provide coverage for everything from employment practices liability to protect clients from employers stealing money or product, to workers’ compensation, to property and crop insurance.
 
“Cannabis is a high-risk industry,” said Fernandez. “This type of coverage extends past having someone hurt on the property or stealing product – if a hurricane causes an outage and the plants die or if the outside crop is ruined by weather, we cover the actual product.
 
“If a client isn’t able to cultivate plants or seeds and it causes a business interruption, they can get paid for something that happened outside of their control, which helps alleviate the loss of revenue,” she added.
 
Companies that do their own deliveries can get transportation coverage that covers both the vehicles and the products inside, and Evolution also offers insurance for companies providing edible products and cannabidiols.
 
Fernandez suggests that everyone who works in or with the cannabis industry take time to review their insurance coverage.
 
“Certain industries are required to carry employment practices liability and professional liability, but their current policies may not cover anything cannabis related – for example, if a doctor is dispensing cards for medical marijuana,” said Fernandez.
 
“What if someone pursues a lawsuit because you recommended something that they say didn’t get results, or caused an adverse reaction? They might pursue a lawsuit,” she added. “The coverage is there not only to pay out when it needs to, but to provide defense costs, such as attorneys’ fees, as well. You don’t need to be found negligent to have a lawsuit against you.”
 
As cannabis use grows, more insurance companies will seek entry into this area, but for now there are few companies offering these kinds of policies, which is why Evolution took the extra step to work with carriers who offer more comprehensive coverage.
 
“It’s just now gaining attention in Florida; it’s not even really broken ground here,” she said. “We want to get ahead of it; the whole point of Evolution Insurance is to evolve to meet the needs of our clients.”


On Friday, April 20, Surterra Wellness opened its new Miami Beach Wellness Center, Surterra’s take on a dispensary. The Miami Beach Wellness Center features an open and inviting space with a kitchen and garden, where the entire Surterra Wellness product lines are on display and available. Surterra CEO Jake Bergmann was also in attendance.



For most NFL players, their careers are over by the age of 35. For running backs, the career span is even shorter, with most out of the league by the time they are 30. Many are left wondering what to do next.

Ricky Williams, former Heisman Trophy winner and star running back who played for the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins, and Baltimore Ravens always knew there was something else beyond football for him.
 
After retiring in 2012, he began traveling and discovered he loved herbs and wanted to help people feel better. He studied Ayurveda in 2004, when he first retired from the NFL, to learn more about herbs. That learning experience expanded to other healing modalities. He’s currently going to school to earn a degree in Chinese medicine. Just last month, Williams founded a new line of cannabis-based products called “Real Wellness by Ricky Williams (RW),” a cannabis-based wellness brand.
 
“It’s an emergence of my second career and I feel that I can bring the same level of success I had in football to this new venture,” he says. “The product line is a combination of my passion for healing my passion for herbal medicine and my entrepreneurial spirit.”
 
All of the products are derived from Williams’ own formulations that can be incorporated into daily health routines. RW’s initial product assortment contains six products that include either hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or a mix of both.
 
Through carefully chosen delivery methods of salves, tonics and vape cartridges, all six products allow consumers to harness the positive effects of cannabis in a more conscious and controlled way. Additionally, the formulations draw on the wisdom of multiple herbal pharmacopoeias by incorporating various herbal extracts like arnica, lavender and turmeric to support certain conditions.
 
"In my herbal studies, my teachers always say herbalists don’t tend to give single herbs, we tend to put them into formulas,” says Williams. “It makes the action of the herbs more specific and it helps to eliminate side effects.”
 
Cannabis played an integral role in Williams’ own healing journey, and he felt a responsibility to share what he learned in the process. His first exposure to the business side of the industry came after a friend asked him to speak at a cannabis conference in Phoenix, AZ in 2015.
 
“At first I declined, but then I reflected on my past and thought about other people in the country who consume cannabis but have to hide it,” he says. “The laws about cannabis aren’t going to change if everyone is hiding and lying about their cannabis use. And everyone knew that I already did it anyway so I thought I would go and share my story.”
 
Williams felt that he found his voice in the cannabis space. People were willing to listen to what he had to say.
 
“I got excited about that and began speaking at more conferences and learning about the industry,” he says. “By doing that, I realized that you needed more intelligent neutral voices in the field sharing their stories. It led me into doing more talks and learning more about cannabis and herbs, and eventually I launched my own brand.”
 
There were two reasons why his brand is called Real Wellness by Ricky Williams, he notes.
 
“Some people might be Ricky Williams fans and some might be wellness fans,” he says. “But a big part of what we’re doing is helping people tie the two together by sharing my story about my simple career as a healthcare provider and a healer who is dedicated to helping people feel better.”
 
In addition to the six products his company is now selling, Williams says that they are working on new ideas and concepts. They have ideas for herbs that can help with attention and focus and improve memory as well as a healing salve for skin inflammations.
 
“The whole idea behind this movement into herbalism is that people are taking more responsibility for their own health,” says Williams. “One of our pillars is education and teaching people to learn about themselves and what they are putting into their bodies. We expect to see the brand grow and continue to get feedback from clientele because we want to make things that people need and want.”


As public support grows for the legalization of marijuana in the U.S. and Canada, mergers and acquisitions lawyers should be studying up now on the ins and outs of cannabis compliance. In the U.S., there are 29 states, the District of Columbia, and the territories of Guam and Puerto Rico, which have all legalized medical marijuana. In addition, there are nine states including Colorado and Massachusetts which have recently legalized the drug for recreational use.

As a result, there is expected to be a serious increase in marijuana-related mergers and acquisitions activity. Now is the time for lawyers to research and prepare for the types of problems that may arise.
 
Regulatory Compliance
One of the most serious issues related to conducting business or providing legal services in the cannabis industry is regulatory compliance and, specifically, the increased legal risk. Currently, the steps needed to ensure regulatory compliance are different depending on the type of deal.
 
The most popular types of business ventures seem to be minority businesses and venture capital investments into ancillary companies. These include dispensary advertising and delivery systems such as vapor (vape) pens and electronic cigarettes (e-cigs).
 
It’s important for mergers and acquisitions attorneys to come to terms with rapid growing interest from clients. Typically, the first step is trying to outline the best practices for the client. An experienced attorney may be able to assist in developing compliance procedures to mitigate some of the risks.
 
Other Challenges
Banks and insurers have so far been very unwilling to help with financing in the marijuana industry. The negative stigma attached to weed makes it far more difficult to wheel and deal as compared to other industries.
 
In January 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo calling marijuana a “dangerous drug” and marijuana-related activity a “serious crime.” The current administration’s disapproval of the drug could have a negative effect on marijuana-related mergers and acquisitions. Therefore, attorneys who have experience navigating the complexities of deals in the marijuana industry are expected to be in high demand for the foreseeable future.