All three cities on Anna Maria Island said no to medical marijuana dispensaries.
But Anna Maria’s largest restaurant operator has quite another take on the matter.
Ed Chiles, owner of a trio of restaurants — Sandbar restaurant in Anna Maria, Beach House in Bradenton Beach and Mar Vista Dockside Restaurant and Pub on Longboat Key — will soon hold a share in one of a handful of marijuana cultivation licenses issued by the Florida Department of Health.
All he lacks is the governor’s signature on the bill.
Chiles has partnered with 3 Boys Farms of Ruskin and, after an almost 18-monthlong legal ordeal to name five growers in all of Florida, 3 Boys emerged victorious in a May ruling by Administrative Law Judge John Van Laningham.
Laningham ruled Alpha Foliage, known as Surterra Therapeutics, should have been ineligible to receive an initial operator license in 2015, due to a change of ownership.
On May 23, Laningham recommended the Florida Department of Health award a license to 3 Boys Farm and Plants of Ruskin.
3 Boys Farms, a competitor in the initial medical marijuana license selection, was virtually tied in the scoring used to determine the awards, but lost to Alpha for the rights to the Southwest Florida region, which includes Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Chiles, along with Ted LaRoche, who holds other investment interests with Chiles, bought into the Ruskin farm in 2013 as non-majority partners. The organic growing operation has been awarded the Governor’s Environmental Leadership Award and is the first nutrient-film technique hydroponic operation in the United States to be USDA-certified organic.
Also in 2013, Chiles signed a long-term lease on the Gamble Creek Farm in Parish, where they grow vegetables, fruits and herbs for use in his restaurants. Chiles stated he has no current plans to grow cannabis at Gamble Creek and that he will continue with his “farm-to-fork” mission, providing fresh, local ingredients to consumers.
In 2014, the state propagated the rules for cannabis operations and decided to issue five licenses — one for each of five state regions. Requirements are far from easy — or affordable.
Nurseries must have been in continuous operation for 30 years with a minimum of 400,000 plants. Applicants must be able to prove they can manage “huge” startup expenses, without the risk of bankruptcy within the first two years.
Estimated bills for startups are usually around $2 million, with an initial $63,000 non-refundable deposit fee. In addition, bonds must be renewed yearly.
The grow licenses are significant assets, as they are tied to the dispensaries for cannabis distribution. Each grower may open 25 dispensaries in their area, and more, if they work collectively with other growers.
In November 2016, a Florida constitutional amendment legalized medical marijuana for a broad vista of patients with debilitating diseases, enabling current grow license holders to automatically be eligible to grow and dispense pot products for a much larger base.
Robert and Deborah Tornello of 3 Boys posted June 13 on the business Facebook page that “in the months ahead, we’ll begin posting pics of what we’ve all been waiting for — Florida’s first all-organically grown medical cannabis crop from an all-Floridian operated grow.”
When asked in a phone interview June l6 about his involvement in the venture, Chiles said he felt it would not have a negative effect on his restaurants or his image.
“The people of Florida have spoken very loudly. A resounding majority voted to support medical marijuana. Attitudes have changed,” Chiles said.
“This has been interesting to say the least,” he said of the past three years in the grow process. “But I don’t have a crystal ball” for what the future holds.
Chiles also reiterated his feelings on medical marijuana becoming available in Florida.
“I am glad to see that folks who can benefit from cannabis can now get it. We know in certain conditions it helps, but this will also aid in research and we will be able to conduct studies.”
Chiles said Tornello will be in charge of dispensaries when the crop eventually becomes available. The 3 Boys Farm plans to begin production of medical marijuana within 30 days of the governor’s signature hitting the bill.
But for now, Chiles will have to be content with restaurants on Anna Maria Island and Tornello will have to put those dispensaries somewhere other than Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach and Holmes Beach.
To which Chiles simply replied, “No comment. I’m not concerned with that.”
With dozens of lower income people in Florida who have expertise and years of experience of growing illegal pot, Florida follows the example of the other states and awards licenses only to the wealthy and influence few who have the better political connections.
An agricultural crop for thousands of years as easy to grow as tomatoes, the politicians have passed laws to preserve a quasi monopoly and have laws that will arrest anyone who grows a few plants in their back yard because that would threaten the profiteering and price gouging that will occur once the legal monopoly is entrenched.