TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: Jonathan R. Lewis, ICMA-CM, City Manager
TITLE: Ordinance No. 2016-33, First Reading, Petition No. TXT-16-164, Amending the Code of the City of North Port and the City of North Port Unified Land Development Code to include regulations related to Low-THC Cannabis and Medical Cannabis Dispensing Facilities.
Recommended Action
Approve and continue Ordinance No. 2016-33, Petition No. TXT-16-164 for second reading on November 22, 2016.
Background Information
Staff received direction from the City Commission to draft amendments to the ULDC to create regulations for dispensing facilities of dispensing organizations of medical cannabis, which are governed under ?381.986, F.S. In June 2014, the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act of 2014 was signed into law, which allowed for the use of low-THC cannabis for use by individuals with epilepsy and other identified medical conditions. Following this, the Florida Department of Health (FLDOH) established detailed rules regarding medical cannabis, which were added to the Florida Administrative Code, effective in May of 2015.
Two months later, FLDOH began accepting applications for dispensing organizations, and five applicants were selected in November 2015. Their acceptance provided for a strict timeline under which the organizations had to meet requirements to post a bond, to be granted cultivation authority, and to begin dispensing. This timeline set the dispensing of medical cannabis to begin in the summer and fall of 2016.
In March 2016, House Bill 307 was signed into law, which expanded the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, providing access to full-strength forms of medical cannabis for terminally ill patients as experimental treatment. It is important to note that smoking of the product is prohibited in all cases. House Bill 307 amended ?381.986, providing specific regulations for cultivation, processing, and dispensing of medical cannabis, ph...
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