Florida Judge Rejects Plans to Open Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Near Convenience Stores
A Florida administrative law judge has ruled that the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use did not act improperly when it denied a medical marijuana company’s request to open dispensaries near or adjacent to convenience stores.
Green Thumb Industries, which operates Rise dispensaries in Florida, had announced a lease agreement with Circle K stores in 2022 to open medical marijuana dispensaries attached to the convenience stores. However, the state regulators rejected the company’s requests, citing concerns about safety and security, as well as the potential for a “lower standard” than what was represented in the company’s original license applications.
The company’s lawyers argued that state law does not prohibit medical marijuana dispensaries from being located near gas stations or convenience stores, and that the Office of Medical Marijuana Use had previously approved other dispensaries in similar locations. However, the judge disagreed, finding that the agency had properly considered the individual facts and circumstances surrounding each request.
The ruling is a setback for Green Thumb Industries, which had planned to launch a “test and learn phase” of the plan with 10 dispensaries adjacent to Circle K stores in various parts of Florida. The company has another case pending at the Division of Administrative Hearings focused on the denial of a proposed dispensary in Ocala, which would be in a building separate from an adjacent Circle K.
The decision is also a victory for the state’s regulators, who had faced criticism for their handling of the issue. The Office of Medical Marijuana Use had been accused of applying “unadopted rules” in denying the company’s requests, but the judge found that the agency had properly applied the law and exercised its discretion in making its decisions.
