I spent the majority of my night on the phone with people trying to find out who actually presented this ordinance to the City Council and I'm sorta perturbed that when one City Council member was asked who presented it, they had no clue but yet voted unanimously to proceed with the ordinance pending public hearing and input.
I think the other issue is that the City doesn't seem to grasp the enormity of what they are "proceeding" to do. I literally had someone tell me, "My understanding it was passed in Florida but at the will of individual Counties (There choice implementing.)"
Say what?
This is a constitutional amendment that passed in the state of Florida. Individual Counties do NOT get to pick and choose what part of the Constitution they want to obey or which they want to ignore. That's not how the law works!
Then that same person tried to tell me, ""Florida voters approved Amendment 2 in November, but its implementation is up to the individual counties." So No clue...Apparently a loophole.."
Wrong again. There is no loophole and the law is very clear.
The Florida Constitution provides that unless otherwise specified, approved amendments become effective on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in January following the election. As Amendment 2 did not provide specific effective dates, it went into effect on January 3, 2017. Amendment 2 required the Florida Department of Health to set regulations for the issuance of identification cards, qualifications and standards of care givers, and rules for the registration of medical marijuana treatment centers within six months of the effective date. The department released its proposed rules for regulating the medical marijuana industry on January 18, 2017. (The Florida Dept. Of Health.) Not the WCSO! NOT the City of DFS!
Neither the City nor the County can simply ignore the law because they don't like it or don't understand it. This is regulated by the State and the Fl Dept. Of Health. Six out of 28 dispensaries were approved by the Florida Department of Health to cultivate, process and dispense low-THC cannabis and medical cannabis after the passage of state constitutional Amendment 2 on Nov. 8. The closest dispensary is Modern Health Concepts in Miami. Neither DFS or Walton County is currently in ANY danger of being overrun by marijuana growers.
I've read that 80 municipalities in Florida that have passed temporary bans on dispensaries because communities feel an ordinance places some sort of control over where the medical marijuana can be dispensed, like liquor stores and bars restricted to certain hours. With the wealth of information available online I'm surprised that anyone is buying into that absurd notion and trying to pass ridiculous ordinances or moratoriums on something that hasn't even come to pass and is already regulated by the state. Are we that backward that we can't even read existing law?
Someone else mentioned to me tonight that this is "smoke and mirrors" to deflect away from current issues in both the City and County. From everything I've read that appears to be a true statement!
