Florida preempts local regulation of medical marijuana dispensaries: cities must either treat them like pharmacies or ban them outright.
Fla. Stat. 381.986(11) governs Medical Marijuana Treatment Center (MMTC) dispensing facilities. A municipality or county may not enact ordinances regulating the cultivation, processing, or dispensing of medical marijuana. Local jurisdictions have only two options: ban dispensaries entirely from their boundaries, or allow them subject to no greater restrictions than those imposed on pharmacies licensed under Chapter 465. Distance, hours, and zoning rules cannot be more restrictive than those applied to pharmacies.
Local ordinances exceeding statutory authority are subject to preemption challenges. MMTCs operating without state licensure face enforcement by the Office of Medical Marijuana Use, including license revocation.
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