The Florida Department of Health is withholding over $2 million dollars in funding intended for use by FAMU’s Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative because it has determined that the program is out of compliance with legislative intent, according to sources close to the situation.
Additionally, the Department is seeking clarification on over $400,000 in unexplained expenditures by FAMU.
Additionally, the Department is seeking clarification on over $400,000 in unexplained expenditures by FAMU.
After Florida joined the growing number of states to approve the use of marijuana for medicinal proposes in 2017 the law mandated that $10 of the annual cost of each medical marijuana registry identification card goes to FAMU. The cards must be renewed annually at a cost of $75.
The money is to be used to conduct a public information campaign to educate the state’s minority populations about the potential benefits of medical marijuana and the pitfalls of smoking or selling illegal pot.
FAMU had been slow to get the project up and running and didn’t hire a project director until Oct 1, 2018, nearly 13 months after the law went into effect. Nearly, ten months later the initial marijuana project director was dismissed, and replaced by veteran interim Patricia Green-Powell, Ph.D.
As we reported before, as of February of this year FAMU had not produced or run a single radio, TV, or newspaper advertisement, or conducted any public education campaigns or seminars of any type in the state’s minority communities with the funding it received from the fee. The university began conducting seminars in March, and launched a website in late February.
According to the source, both the Florida Department of Health, and legislative staff, had previously reminded FAMU, on several occasions, about the legislative intent of the program and warned that the intent is not for it to be a research project. Agency, staff had also cautioned FAMU that its proposed budget was too administrative top heavy.
As of August 9, 2019, there were 253,652 active medical marijuana registry identification cards currently in use in Florida. At $10 per card this would net FAMU $2,536,520. It is not known how many of those cards had been renewed. FAMU stands to gain an additional $10 off of each renewal.
Since February, the Department of Health has been withholding payments to FAMU.