Santis] is against it because of the smell. A stigma that has been fueled in racism de- cades ago is attached to marijuana and many conservatives are going to hold on to that fallacy. Marijuana has also been used to incriminate Black and brown people. What easier way to get someone’s criminal record started than to catch them with can- nabis. Yet many companies have made mil- lions if not billions from the plant. These companies are traded on the stock market, so that tells you the level of money they are making. But if a young adult or teen gets caught with it, they are going to jail if they have the right amount.” Nikki Fried FLORIDA COMMISSIONER OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES DEMOCRATIC PARTY “Hope... opportunity... oppression” “For patients dealing with chronic ill- nesses, cannabis smells like hope. For entre- preneurs who see the opportunities with the growing hemp industry, it smells like opportunity. And for those formerly or cur- rently incarcerated for minor cannabis of- fenses as part of the misguided war on drugs, it smells like oppression. It should smell like freedom.” Alex Lundmark VERO BEACH RESIDENT, AIRLINE PILOT, AND REAL ESTATE BROKER DEMOCRATIC PARTY “Love the smell” “I personally love the smell of weed. If I’m given the opportunity to serve, I would decriminalize it on day one, with all the rest of the drugs, and let the mari- juana industry explode. I would make sure that everyone has an opportunity to capitalize on the legalization — meaning I would change our current ‘vertical’ model to a ‘horizontal’ model where you don’t have to grow and cultivate the product if you want to sell it in whatever form you choose.” Annette Taddeo STATE SENATOR FOR FLORIDA’S Frank Hughes Jr. LEON COUNTY SCHOOLS TEACHER INDEPENDENT PARTY “Not the most pleasant” “The smell is not the most pleasant but it 63 does wake you up. It doesn’t smell as bad as cigarettes, in my opinion. I don’t think [De- 40TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATIC PARTY “A medicinal plant” “Marijuana smells like what it is — a me- dicinal plant! But that shouldn’t really matter. What matters is that marijuana is a safe drug used by millions of Floridians that no one should go to jail for using. There’s no question Editor’s note: At the time of publication, candidates Kyle Gibson (no party affiliation), Mark Graham (Unity Party), David Nelson Freeman (Democratic Party), and John Joseph Mercadante (Republican Party) had not re- sponded to our request for comment. [email protected] to restrict Floridians’ freedoms. is a really weak excuse Frankly, ‘smell’ “ Growing Up to me that marijuana should be legalized. It’s used medically by over 560,000 Floridians and recreationally by many more. But we can’t talk about legalizing marijuana without talking about the large racial disparity in who goes to jail for possession of marijuana. Black Floridians are over three times more likely to go to jail for marijuana charges than white Floridians, despite using the drug at nearly the same rates. This injustice must end, and we must stake a claim on the lost tax revenue to improve our schools and roads.” ” Meet the Flowery, Florida’s only family-owned cannabis dispensary. BY ALEX DELUCA N estled amid the rolling farmlands of Home- stead, in the heart of Mi- ami’s thriving cannabis cultivation scene, sits a massive facility where, at any given mo- ment, roughly 20,000 marijuana plants are growing. Think Willy Wonka’s fac- tory, only with weed. The roughly 100,000-square-foot building houses nearly 30 propagation and cannabis grow rooms in various sizes, plus a few spaces dedicated to ex- tractions, hashish processing, and pack- aging. The facility is run by the Flowery, a Miami-owned and family-operated medical marijuana business. The Flowery is one of Florida’s 22 vertically integrated medical marijuana operators — meaning it handles every aspect of the cannabis process from seed to sale, as required by the state’s so- called vertical integration rule. As New Times previously reported, this law has often led to the formation of cannabis oligopolies, in which a small number of big companies wield control over the cannabis market and leave little space for smaller businesses. That’s why the Flowery has won praise in Florida. Though the small-scale company has been rapidly growing in the past few years — from a single employee to roughly 60, and from a 6,000-square- foot, environmentally-controlled indoor facility to one more than 15 times that size — it has managed to remain mindful of its roots. The company continues to hand-deliver products, including mari- juana flower, prerolls, and kief, to pa- Photo courtesy of the Flowery Photo via Facebook Photo via Mr.Lundy.com Photo via Wikimedia Commons Photo via Facebook MONTH XX–MONTH XX, 2008 APRIL 14-20, 2022 NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com miaminewtimes.com
