Legal Updates

MEDICAL MARIJUANA If upheld on appeal, an opinion by the First District Court of Appeal will be a game changer for the medical marijuana industry. The panel of judges ruled that the established governing laws are unconstitutional. The Court concurred that the cap for operators was unconstitutional and that the state created an oligopoly by requiring that operators grow, process and distribute cannabis. The ruling would increase the number of growers, separate growing from distribution and theoretically reduce the consumer cost for cannabis by creating more competition.

MEDIAN LANDSCAPING A Florida appeals court overruled a lower court opinion regarding sovereign immunity. A motorcyclist was injured after striking a tree in a highway median during a crash. The appeal court allowed the lawsuit to continue after determining the City of Coral Gables had no immunity.

BUMP STOCK BAN In 2018, the Legislature banned bump stocks which convert semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic ones. Shortly thereafter, a lawsuit was filed challenging the ban. The suit did not approach the issue as a right to bear arms, but as an unlawful taking of property that should require compensation to owners. The Leon County circuit judge ruled that the delay in implementation gave owners enough time to dispose or sell their stocks; thereby dismissing the case.