By Daniel Casciato

Terry Donnell Gwinn, the owner of a Suwannee County farm, will soon become Florida’s newest medical marijuana operator. His application was unanimously approved by a state panel earlier this month. This will also make him the first black-owned business in the state’s medical marijuana industry.

Gwinn and his brother Clifford have operated Gwinn Brothers Farm in McAlpin for more than 40 years and produce a variety of crops there. On their 1,137-acre farm the Gwinn’s produce includes: peanuts, iron clay peas, bahia grass seed, hay, and beef cattle. They are best known, however, for their premium watermelons, which are sold locally and throughout the eastern part of the country. The two brothers also manage a packinghouse in McAlpin, where they employ local workers and high school students.

The Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), will issue as many as 22 licenses to qualified applicants under the General Application Round, in accordance with a 2017 medical marijuana law that sets parameters for the sector. This will double the number of cannabis operators from 22 to 44.

The 2017 law included a provision requiring health officials to approve a license to a Black farmer since no African American farmers in the state met eligibility requirements for an earlier round of state licenses. Those early licenses were based on a 2014 law that legalized non-euphoric cannabis for a limited number of patients.

The 2017 law required granting a license to one applicant who is a recognized class member from the class action lawsuits known as the Pigford cases. These were the Black farmers who sued the federal government in 1997 alleging that they had been discriminated against in gaining access to loans, debt restructuring, and other aid provided to white farmers.

To be eligible, Black farmers had to show they’ve been operating in Florida at least five years. However, when the Department of Health’s application process was revealed to include a $146,000 fee non-refundable license – more than double what prospective operators paid last time an open spot became available– many were upset. To alleviate these concerns, the state passed a law stating that eligible Black farmers would not have to pay for any future licenses.

A total of 12 Black farmers submitted applications for the lone license. As a result of the state’s decision to award Gwinn a license, litigation is expected from some of the other medical-marijuana providers who lost their chance. In fact, 17 of the current 22 providers received licenses after filing lawsuits.

The selection of Gwinn also comes as there’s a big push to add a proposed constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would legalize recreational use of marijuana in Florida.