First medical marijuna in Florida to be available next week as Trulieve gets DOH approval to begin dispensing

Hackney Nursery can begin dispensing medical marijuana.

The Gadsden County nursery — doing business as Trulieve — announced Wednesday it had received formal authorization from the Department of Health to dispense medical marijuana. It hopes to begin dispensing medical marijuana from its Tallahassee facility, and begin statewide deliveries, within a week.

Trulieve is the first dispensing organization in the state to get state approval to begin dispensing the product, said a spokeswoman for the Department of Health.

“We are happy to announce that we have passed all inspections — from growing and processing to dispensing — and are the very first medical cannabis provider in the state to receive these formal authorizations,” said Kim Rivers, the company’s CEO, in a statement. “And we are most excited to get this much-anticipated medicine to the patients of Florida.”

Trulieve is one of six dispensing organizations authorized to cultivate, process and dispense low-THC cannabis and medical cannabis in Florida. Rivers said the company will begin sales at its Tallahassee facility in the coming days.

Rivers said the company will have the low-THC cannabis available for statewide delivery immediately. Full-strength marijuana products authorized under the state’s Right to Try Act will be available in early August.

The Right to Try Act allows terminally ill patients to try experimental treatments that haven’t been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Lawmakers expanded the bill to allow terminally ill patients to use medical marijuana.

The low-THC version was authorized under the 2014 Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act. Legal challenges marred implementation of the law, but other dispensing organizations have said they getting close to being able to distribute the product.