It’s been just over 2 months, and an entirely different decade since our last industry overview. The industry has again picked up some momentum in its development, and all Florida MMTCs now offer a flower product. At the time of our last overview – early November 2019 – flower had been somewhat scarce for some time, but was becoming more widely available again. Since then, flower is available in almost an abundance at this point; every MMTC usually has at least one strain available at almost any given time now. It may not be the exact strain you’re looking for, but it’s a much better scenario than Fall 2019 when there seemed to be weeks with almost zero flower availability, supplemented only by small “limited” releases.
As we begin 2020, all the potential Adult Use Cannabis amendments have discontinued their campaigns due to lack of signatures in time for the February deadline, so this topic will not be on the Florida 2020 ballot. However, Senator Jeff Brandes and Representative Carlos Guillermos Smith have introduced bipartisan companion bills in the Florida House and Senate to legalize adult use cannabis in Florida, and they even go a step further by breaking down the current vertical integration system (largely responsible for high prices and lack of wide availability) and expunging minor prior cannabis offenses for Florida residents.
While this is great news and a sign of progress, there is still doubt on whether either of these bills can pass in the Republican-dominated legislative branches of Florida’s government. And since this would not technically be “the people’s choice” since it’s in the form of bills, it isn’t out of the realm of possibility that Governor Ron Desantis – who has been known to be opposed to adult use cannabis – would veto the measure entirely.
Another item of contention for Florida legislators and patients is the resurfacing of talk to impose a cap of 10% THC on all cannabis flower in Florida. Republican Representative Ray Rodrigues has apparently been attempting to build support for his ongoing war against medical cannabis, and there are rumors that he has convinced much of the House to agree with him. Patients and the industry itself will certainly fight back (and win) against any measure introduced with the intention of limiting (read: harming) Floridian cannabis patients, but now is the time to contact your local representatives (particularly your Senators) and let them know how much you oppose a cap/limit of any cannabinoid in our medical cannabis products.
With that in mind for future action and organization, let’s shift our focus back to the current growth of the industry, and the even brighter future that lies ahead.
State of the Florida Cannabis Industry: January 16, 2020
Qualified Patients (Active ID Card): 302,891
Numbers above provided as of the latest OMMU Update – 01.10.2020
As has been the case for pretty much the entire existence of the medical cannabis industry in Florida, Trulieve dominates the market; in fact, they have ramped up production and created an even bigger gap between them and the closest competitors as of the last update. All MMTCs now offer a flower product, and almost all of them have nearly constant availability of flower. Flower quality across the board continues to improve, and most of the major MMTCs now have multiple tiers and prices for different qualities of flower. To be frank, it’s truly a great time to be a cannabis patient in Florida, and it’s only going to get better this year.
Brief Overview of each MMTC’s Flower
Top 3 Suppliers of Flower in Florida (by number of oz. sold as of the one week period before the last OMMU update):
- Trulieve – 9,099.311
- Liberty Health Sciences – 2,343.171
- Curaleaf Florida – 2,083.905
Trulieve
Trulieve’s flower remains as some of the highest-reviewed flower across the board in Florida, and they continue to keep consistent high quality pumping out from their powerhouse operation. Many times recently, patients have uploaded daily product menus from their local dispensaries that show upwards of 16 different strains available in flower. This certainly shows growth from 2019, and begins to resemble a more developed legal cannabis market in Florida.
A slight controversy on social media as of late – particular the Florida Medical Trees subreddit – has been a slew of reports of underweight eighth ounces (standard: 3.5 grams) being sold at Trulieve. A few dozen patients have reported eighths weighing anywhere from over a full gram short (isolated incident), to the more common eighths weighing in the 3.1-3.3 gram range.
The way I see it is this: there are two possible extremes. One is that Trulieve is either intentionally or unintentionally selling a significant number of short eighths. The other extreme is that patients (or even competitors) are fabricating these reports for attention and/or free product.
The reality is probably somewhere in the middle. Regardless, Trulieve has responded and stated that the issue is being addressed. Hopefully, the issue is resolved and becomes a distant memory, as the quality and selection of products at Trulieve continues to improve with time.
Concentrates: Trulieve currently offers cannabis concentrates in the form of distillate, shatter, crumble, RSO, and rosin.
Curaleaf
Curaleaf had just started to ramp up the quality of their flower as of the time of our last update, and that trend has continued over the past two months, with several posts each week from patients who are highly satisfied with their flower pickups. No major changes have occurred with Curaleaf’s flower pricing; strains range from $37 to $57 and are typically 20 +/- 5% THC.
Curaleaf has expanded their selection of concentrates since the last update, as reports of limited batches of crumble have surfaced since then.
The main complaint about Curaleaf is a consistent lack of stock at many locations; however, some patients have reported this week that their local dispensaries had have 10+ strains available. Perhaps Curaleaf is ramping up their grow operation in Florida?
Concentrates: Curaleaf currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate, shatter, crumble, and wax.
RiSE
RiSE has opened up one additional location since our last update, for a total of 6 locations throughout the state.
Their flower is consistently highly rated and regarded as some of the best in Florida’s medical cannabis industry, though its availability is limited when compared to that of other MMTCs.
RiSE offers flower for $50/eighth, and their “smalls” (same as Trulieve’s minis – small, popcorn nugs) are $35/eighth.
Concentrates: RiSE currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate.
GrowHealthy
GrowHealthy has expanded form 9 to 12 locations since the last update, and had already expanded from 6 locations at the time of the update before that – so they are definitely rapidly expanding their operation in Florida.
Reviews of GrowHealthy’s flower continue to be mostly all very positive. The MMTC recently started offering their “littles”, which are the same as other MMTCs’ “minis”, “smalls”, “popcorns”, etc: small buds from the lower parts of the plant that don’t get as much light. GrowHealthy’s “littles” are $35 per eighth and $99 per half, making for a very affordable high-quality flower option.
GrowHealthy also recently introduced periodic releases of their “Master Grower Series” flower priced at $60/eighth, and reviews have largely indicated that patients believe the quality matches the expensive price tag.
This recent shift in pricing scheme shows the effect of competition in the Florida cannabis industry that I’ve been talking about for nearly a year now. As more MMTCs expand and more locations open in the same areas, competition and production both increase – so prices come down. I believe this is another good sign of things to come throughout 2020.
VidaCann
VidaCann has remained steady with 13 locations since our last update, and their operation has remained steady as well. VidaCann locations across the state seem to regularly have flower almost any given day of the week during the past month, and rumor has it that their highly popular Tikun Olam partnered line of products will be releasing a flower product very soon.
Other than that, we expect to see VidaCann continue to steadily grow in its presence and product selection & availability throughout 2020.
Concentrates: Cresco/VidaCann currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate – available in both syringe and glass jar containers.
MÜV (Altmed Florida)
MÜV continues chugging along with its recently ramped-up flower production, retaining the #4 spot for flower production in Florida.
Some reports lately have indicated that MÜV‘s flower quality has not been quite as good as most patients are used to. Whether this is a “blip” or a longer trend remains to be seen, as these posts on social media are relatively new.
Regardless, MÜV has progressed their flower product into 3 different tiers based on various factors that affect the overall quality – size, terpene profile, potency, etc.
Tier 3 flower is $32/eighth and is MÜV‘s version of “smalls”. Tier 2 flower is $40/eighth, and Tier 1 – the highest quality MÜV offers – is $50/eighth.
Great news for Panhandle patients: MÜV has confirmed locations in both Tallahassee and Pensacola. The Tallahassee location is set to open within the next week or two, and the Pensacola location’s opening date is currently unknown.
Concentrates: MÜV offers concentrate in the forms of distillate, shatter, crumble, terp sauce, rosin, and RSO.
Liberty Health Sciences
Liberty Health Sciences flower has continued to improve, and some patients have reported the their eighths are even beginning to have a more pungent smell – a far cry from the “LHS flower smells like hay” reports that were rampant for much of 2019. One thing is for sure: LHS has continued to ramp up their flower production, and remains the #2 producer of cannabis flower in the state of Florida.
Liberty also offers a second tier of their flower in their “Papa’s Herb” line, which is priced at $25/eighth. These batches are typically lower THC than the rest of their flower, but they are often very good quality in their own right.
Since our last update, LHS has started to offer a third tier of flower: their “popcorn” product, priced at $23/eighth.
Concentrates: Liberty Health Sciences currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate.
Fluent
Fluent has ramped up their flower production since our last update, and offers a new pricing structure for their flower, which is broken down into 5 tiers:
Fluent is still regarded to have very high quality flower relative to the rest of the Florida industry; with a new pricing structure and more production, we expect that Fluent’s flower sales and production both will only continue to increase throughout the rest of the year.
Fluent also introduced two new ice water extract concentrate products: their “Melt” priced at $90/gram, and rosin at $80/gram.
Concentrates: Fluent currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate, melt, and rosin.
Surterra Wellness
Surterra has had some pretty massive updates to their product selection since our last update. They introduced their “Float” line of products, which features whole flower (finally!), shatter, and a “soft wax” concentrate product.
Surterra’s flower is priced at $30/eighth across the board, making it some of the more affordable flower in Florida. However, quality has not been particularly impressive according to my own experience and other patients’ experiences on social media; I suppose at that price, you get what you pay for, right? I am thankful that Surterra is finally offering a whole flower product, and hope they continue to improve the quality as we move forward.
Concentrates: Surterra currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate, shatter, and soft wax.
Harvest
Harvest is another relatively affordable option for Florida medical cannabis patients, with all of their eighths priced at $35/eighth.
For some reason, Harvest’s flower seems to be the least talked about on social media, and what little talk I have seen has been negative.
We’ll continue to keep our eye on Harvest to see if they try to increase their presence in the Florida medical marijuana market.
Concentrates: Harvest only offers concentrates in the form of distillate vape carts at this time.
One Plant (Formerly 3 Boys Farm)
One Plant has made a name for themselves in Florida’s medical cannabis industry since our last update. They’ve introduced new pricing tiers based on overall quality, shown in the chart below:
Reviews of strains in all tiers have been largely positive, and indications from social media are that the “Exosphere” tier really is extremely high quality bud, even with the ridiculous price tag. I haven’t had a chance to try One Plant’s flower yet, so I’ll let you all be the judge. Let us know about your thoughts/experiences with their flower in the comments section of this post!
Concentrates: One Plant currently offers distillate vape carts.
MedMen
MedMen has expanded from 7 to 10 locations since our last update. However, they hardly ever have any flower available, and both the numbers on the OMMU report and the lack of social media posts show it. There are rumors that MedMen as a company may be near the end of its life; while that remains to be seen, they surely haven’t made much of an impact in Florida yet.
Concentrates: MedMen only offers concentrates in the form of distillate vape carts at this time.
Columbia Care Florida
Columbia Care has made a surprising, extremely strong statement with their entrance into the Florida medical cannabis flower market. Up until the time of our last update, Columbia Care was the lone holdout of all MMTCs; it was the only one not currently offering a flower product. at the time.
That suddenly and unexpectedly changed in late Fall 2019, with Columbia Care’s announcement of their flower product, priced at $43/eighth. Reviews of this flower have been mostly overwhelmingly positive – it’s possible that Columbia is on its way to gaining a reputation as having some of the best medical cannabis flower in Florida. We’re certainly watching their growth and expansion with anticipation, and look forward to trying their flower, hopefully soon.
Concentrates: Columbia Care currently offers concentrates in the form of distillate vape carts.
Closing Thoughts
2020 looks to be another great year for medical (and possibly Adult Use) cannabis in Florida – perhaps an even better year than 2019. As all Florida MMTCs continue to grow their operations and refine their products, competition increases, and lower prices become more common; we’re seeing the beginning of this now. Multiple price tiers will continue to become more common in the industry; I predict that by the end of the year, almost all of the MMTCs will have multiple price tiers for their flower products, and will all continually have multiple strains available.
Depending on how the 2020 Legislative Session in Florida goes, a myriad of possible outcomes for our cannabis industry are possible. We optimistically believe that the outcome will be for all of our benefit; regardless of what happens, the Florida Medical Cannabis Collective will be here to inform you of all the latest developments in our cannabis industry.
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Florida Medical Cannabis Collective 
Hello, Great overview, I always look forward to reading about the progress of florida’s med program. I was at the Stuart location of GH last Wend and met the owner who was talking with everyone. I ask him how GH grows it flower which most dispensaries do not offer up any info on. He was really nice and showed me some pics of the grow warehouse with thousands of cannabis plants, it was AWESOME! As a long time grower and user of cannabis I want to know how my medication is being grown. Plants grown in soil with organic fertilizers are always going to be the very best tasting and smelling cannabis in my opinion. The owner told me the plants are grown in 6 gal containers of soil but did not expand on what type of fertilizer they use. Also CO2 injections will be starting this week which is like rocket fuel for cannabis. I wish the dispensaries would be open about their grow process and tell us whether they use chemical or organic ferts. I think this is a topic that needs more exploring. Right now, only One Plant claims to grow all organic. I’m familiar with their grow technique (nutrient film) which flushes nutrient rich water over the roots. Most times fish or fish fert products are used to fertilizer. The flower I bought from One Plant got better after letting it cure in a uv twist top jar with a 2-way humidity pack. This tells me they are not curing their flower hence the low terpene profile. It makes sense they would package any cannabis for sale after the drying period instead of letting it cure for weeks because demand is so high. Thanks you for letting me share my thoughts,
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Nice and thorough evaluation of the current state of the Sunshine State for medical cannabis, thanks for the good round-up!
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