Jim Rosica
A plant nursery that was awarded a license to grow medical marijuana has filed a lawsuit in Tallahassee “to protect (itself) from any unnecessary delay in cultivating and dispensing” the product.
The lawsuit by Chestnut Hill Tree Farm was announced Wednesday evening in a news release. The suit was not yet listed in Leon County Circuit Civil court dockets.
Chestnut Hill, in Alachua County, is one of five approved marijuana growers in the state. Its license, however, is being challenged by another nursery that lost out.
“Chestnut Hill is seeking a declaration from the court to eliminate the doubt and uncertainty that has been created by the losing applicants, and allow for (the Department of Health), along with the winners of the Northeast Florida region approval, Chestnut Hill, to be able to carry out their mission of getting this medicine to the Floridians who greatly need it,” said John Lockwood, attorney for Chestnut Hill, in the release.
“There is no precedent or legal reason to stop this process from moving forward, and Chestnut Hill is more than ready and able to deliver this medicine in a timely manner and in accordance with the award,” he said.
The other approved growers are Hackney Nursery Co. (northwest region), Knox Nursery (central), Alpha Foliage (southwest), and Costa Nursery Farms (southeast).
The state’s Division of Administrative Hearings now has 14 challenges to the state’s awarding of medical marijuana licenses.
