Two Black Florida Farmers Get Marijuana Licenses – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

Two Black farmers in Florida have received licenses to grow, process and sell medical marijuana, after a new state law helped clear the way for the long-awaited licenses.

The Florida Department of Health issued the licenses on July 11 to Suwannee County farmer Terry Donnell Gwinn and Bascom-based Shedrick McGriff. The farmers each met a Friday deadline to submit a required $5 million bond to begin operating, sources confirmed.

Letters sent to Gwinn and McGriff announcing the licenses had been awarded pointed to a measure (HB 387) that lawmakers passed in May and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last month.

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The bill was aimed, in part, at helping carry out a 2017 law that earmarked a medical marijuana license for a Black farmer with ties to doing business in the state. The farmer also had to be part of decades-old class-action lawsuits, known as the “Pigford” cases, against the U.S. Department of Agriculture over discriminatory lending practices.

State health officials accepted applications for the Black farmer license in March 2022, after years of delay. The Department of Health in September announced its intent to issue a license to Gwinn, but losing applicants filed administrative and legal challenges.

Under the law that DeSantis signed last month, the health department was required to issue licenses to Black farmers whose…