Florida Looking To Hemp For Revenue

Florida lawmakers have proposed many bills to regulate and tax hemp production, thanks to a federal law change making it legal. Experts say that hemp production and the production of cannabis as a whole will become a very lucrative market as re-regulation persists throughout the states, thus it can be used as an option to generate revenue for the state.



Ben Albritton proposed a hemp bill on Thursday (February 14th, 2019) that would set up a hemp program under the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. In Florida, its also notable that Cannabis is used primarily for medicinal purposes. The bill will also require individuals and organizations to have their goods or products inspected by the local authorities. They also must register with the FDACS. Earlier, Agricultural Commissioner Nikki Fried named Holly Bell as Florida state's first Director of Cannabis. The purpose of the position is to focus specifically on building up and maintaining a hemp industry.

This bill, proposed by Albritton, also shares other similarities to HB 333 and SB 1020, respectively. Also more than half of the United States hemp production comes from Colorado, and currently there are more than 80 Marijuana dispensaries in Florida for patients and nearly 200,000 active registered patients.