James Call
Friday marked the seventh day of existence for the Medical Cannabis Trade Association. The association of nurseries is challenging a proposed rule for a medicinal marijuana law approved in 2014.
When the group filed a lawsuit Tuesday no one around the Capitol seemed to know anything about the MCTA.
The association formed as a Delaware corporation on March 20, organized to conduct business in Florida on Monday, and filed its challenged the next day. It contends the Department of Health’s proposed medical marijuana regulations are vague, fail to establish adequate standards and enlarges provisions beyond what lawmakers wrote.
“The proposed rules from the Department of Health are arbitrary and not in the best interest of the people of Florida,” said Clifford Wolf, MCTA’s Fort Lauderdale attorney. “Our goal is to insure that appropriate rules are adopted so patients have access to properly regulated medical cannabis in the future.”
Clifford declined to disclose any information about MCTA membership other than it includes nurseries and others. He said a news release announcing its creation soon will be released.
“We are a not-for-profit association with no motive other than assuring that the citizens of Florida have access to properly regulated medical cannabis using specific and well defined rules,” Clifford said.
The MCTA challenge is before administrative law Judge W. David Watkins. He has 30 days from the filing to schedule a hearing. At that time, Clifford will probably be required to disclose the identities of some of the association’s members so Watkins can determine whether they have standing to sue.
In the meantime, the Florida Senate is moving forward with a plan to implement the Charlotte’s Web law with an end-around the rule-making process. Sen. Rob Bradley’s self-executing SPB 7066 is scheduled for a Health Policy Committee meeting Tuesday.
