John Allen spends most of his time these days working on Black Mule Coffee, a cannabis-infused premium coffee brand that his company recently launched. But his workload with Black Mule could be considered just a warmup if he is chosen as the recipient of the medical marijuana license set aside for a Black farmer that the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use is expected to act on soon.
What You Need To Know
- Part of the constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana in 2016 in Florida included setting aside one license for a Black farmer who was a claimant of a 1997 lawsuit which alleged sustained and ongoing discrimination by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture
- The Florida Dept of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use is currently reviewing the 12 BLF applicants
- There are only 22 licensed operators authorized in the medical marijuana industry in Florida. That number is expected to increase over the next year
Allen is the president of FTG Development, one of twelve applicants vying for what is known as the Pigford Black Farmer License (BLF), which was set aside for a claimant of the 1997 Pigford v. Glickman class action lawsuit, which alleged sustained and ongoing discrimination by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It’s definitely a massive lift, but I would say that I’ve been groomed,” says Allen about what he would need to do to scale up his company if he were to be awarded the license.
Allen and the other applicants competing for the Black…
