Rouson favored FAMU over UF/USF
State Sen. Darryl Rouson, D-St Petersburg, who successfully included the amendment to steer the money to FAMU, told the Tallahassee Democrat that he pushed the amendment because the original version of the bill provided research funding to the University of Florida and University of South Florida, but not FAMU.
“The flagship African-American university in the state, which also is known for research, should be given an appropriation for this purpose because the minority community has suffered greatly in areas of addiction, for unlawful use and economic disparities,” Rouson said at the time.
The issue of substance abuse is very personal to Rouson who just last year celebrated his 20th year of sobriety, after having past battles with addictions. In addition, Rouson’s wife, Angela, served on the FAMU Board of Trustees for a brief period.
Since the law went into effect, FAMU has received a total of $524,000, from the Florida Department of Health (FDOH). The initial payout covers from July 1, 2017, through March 30, 2018, representing 58,914 ID cards issued during that period. In January (2019), FDOH refused to turn over another $421,000 from license fees due to FAMU, because the University has had difficulty spending the money it has received in the original payment.
The University could stand to earn much more from the license fees as restrictions on the licenses are loosened and the number of vendors expanded, after a recent court challenge.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has recently announced that he favors an expansion of Florida's medical marijuana program and asked the legislature to heed the will of Florida voters.
FAMU has done nothing
Since 2017, FAMU has not yet 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.
On Oct 1, of last year, the University hired Peter Harris, as director of medical marijuana projects at a salary of $125,000. At the time, Harris was billed as a “veteran lobbyist,” yet a search of the state’s online lobbyist database reveals that Harris had not had a client in nearly a decade. FAMU proposes to bill the FDOH another 31% for fringe benefits for Harris' salary to bring the total budget for his position to $163,750. Harris' salary is being paid from the ID fees the University draws down from FDOH. Harris also has no background in marketing or communications.
The budget FAMU submitted to FDOH indicated that the University also intended to hire a Community Relations Manager at $70,000 ($91,700 after fringes), a Curriculum Development Specialist at $60,000 ($78,600 after fringes), a Coordinator of Administrative Services at $60,000 ($78,600 after fringes), and a Communications Specialist at $80,000 ($104,800 after fringes) last year to work with Harris.
None of those positions have been filled yet, though the University is paying Carol Davis, who serves as an Associate Director in the FAMU Office of Communication from the grant.
What was glaringly missing from FAMU's budget to FDOH was money for ad buys, focus groups, messaging methodology, a plan to reach Florida minority populations, or impact measurement. There is a feeling by FDOH staff that FAMU's budget is too administratively top heavy.
FAMU wants to create a Center for Medical Marijuana Education and Research (CMMER), a bureaucratic enterprise, public documents released by the FDOH show.
FAMU President Larry Robinson signed the initial agreement with the Florida Department of Health in February 2018 on how the money would be transferred through February 5, 2023.
The FAMU documents submitted to FDOH indicates the foundation of the program will include four components: research, education, community engagement, and communications. The University suggested it would draw from on-campus expertise. For example, the School of Allied Health Sciences to develop and implement research strategies within minority communities on the effects of medicinal marijuana and treatment outcomes, the Institute of Public Health, and the School of Journalism.
Rouson frustrated with FAMU lack of action
Rouson has expressed growing frustration with the FAMU effort, “I don’t know the status. I just don’t know where we are. I don’t know what progress they’ve made.”
This latest revelation follows the recent disclosure that two years after FAMU was granted the right to grow industrial hemp it has yet to plant the first seed.