The first lawsuit has been filed against Florida’s new medical cannabis laws, as Count Joe Redner, a strip club entrepreneur and lung cancer patient, has sued the state due to the rules barring cardholders from growing their own cannabis plants, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Redner’s suit claims that the regime put forth by lawmakers conflicts with the constitutional amendment approved by voters last November, which allows patients to use “all parts of the plant.”
“I want to grow plants — plural. Twenty of them,” he said in the report. “I’m doing research right now and I want to be able to use it in juicing. To be effective enough, I need to grow 20 plants.”
Redner, 77, says that the new rules allow only dispensaries to decide what parts of the plant are used in medical cannabis products, and he has no idea what the companies might be using in their cultivation and manufacturing processes.
“I don’t know if they’re using pesticides or doing what’s good for the plant,” he said. “I’m a raw vegan. I am very careful about what I put into my body. And the amendment gives me the right to that.”
The lawsuit does not seek damages, rather declaratory judgement on the merits of his claim.
John Morgan, an Orlando attorney who helped fund the Amendment 2 campaign, previously indicated he was considering a lawsuit against the state over the no-smoking provisions included in the rules passed by state lawmakers.