6 April 17-April 23, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | F lorida’s cannabis program has come a long way since voters le- galized medical marijuana through a ballot initiative in 2016. Gone are the days when you had to travel miles and miles to find a well- stocked weed shop in South Florida. The options are aplenty and growing ev- ery week, from crunchy nuggets to high-po- tency edibles to THC-tinged tinctures. More than 600 dispensaries are spread across the state, selling an average of 6,000-plus pounds of smokeable marijuana products per week. As of April 11, 2025, more than 900,000 Flo- ridians hold valid medical marijuana cards. The sticky-icky is now overflowing from the shelves of dispensaries. Many Miami- Dade dispensaries are clustered in munici- palities like Miami Beach, North Miami Beach, and the veritable Green Mile (as it were) of shops along Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami. Deerfield Beach in Broward is another popular spot, and those who venture to Palm Beach County have a smorgasbord to choose from, particularly in Delray Beach, Boca Raton, and West Palm. Though the industry has grown im- mensely since full-service dispensaries started opening, control of the Florida canna- bis market is still largely in the hands of a few well-funded companies with billion-dollar- plus market capitalization, Trulieve chief among them. Seventeen companies (not all of which, we concede, are corporate weed giants) operate dispensaries in South Florida; another small handful work on a delivery-only basis. Brick and Mortar Marijuana Dispensaries in South Florida Here’s an alphabetical rundown of the dispensa- ries dosing out the sweet dank in South Florida: (*offers delivery) Ayr Cannabis Dispensary After launching its first South Florida store on Bird Road in Miami in December 2018, Ayr Canna- bis Dispensary (then known as Liberty Health Sci- ences) opened a handful of additional outposts. Patients who browse THC and CBD products on- line can place their orders for pick-up in one of its stores or request home delivery. Liberty touts dis- counts for veterans, seniors, and new patients. ayrdispensaries.com Cannabist Cannabist — which in 2023 completed a rebrand that shed its former umbrella identity, Columbia Care — does business in 15 U.S. states, including Florida. The company’s motto is “higher stan- dard, higher knowledge, higher calling,” and em- ployees undergo extensive training on all things cannabis-related. gocannabist.com Cookies Cookies opened its first dispensary in Florida in Miami across from Tropical Park, a spot stocked with quality cannabis and “world-class bud- tenders” to help out customers, the company says. In partnership with marijuana cultivator Jai Chang — the man behind the famous Girl Scout Cookies strain — the company was formed by rapper Gilbert Milam, AKA Berner, in San Fran- cisco and has since grown into a national mari- juana brand. cookies.co Curaleaf* While it doesn’t have quite as big a presence in Florida as Trulieve, Curaleaf is the largest cannabis company in the U.S. by revenue. Having rapidly expanded in the Sunshine State, the company op- erates more than 60 dispensaries in Florida. The company offers a variety of marijuana products, including flower, oil, THC hybrid topical balm, and vape cartridges across multiple locations in Mi- ami-Dade and Broward. It says it prides itself on producing the “cleanest, purest cannabis strains from hand-grown, healthy and happy plants.” curaleaf.com The Flowery* Steve Garrison, who owns an almond farm in Homestead, decided to break into the medical marijuana industry after his son sustained a brain injury while serving with the U.S. military during the Iraq War. Matthew Garrison died before his dad could obtain a state license, but the Flowery’s goal remains the same: to help ease pain and suf- fering with cannabis. The Flowery grows its plants indoors at a 100,000-square-foot facility in Homestead. Its potent flower is available at the company’s first brick-and-mortar dispensary on Biscayne Boulevard along North Miami’s so- called Green Mile. theflowery.co Fluent A Miami-based cannabis company, Fluent oper- ates six dispensaries in South Florida and a 43,000-square-foot greenhouse cultivation facil- ity in Homestead. It offers flower, edibles, pre- rolls, and vape products containing THC and CBD. Fluent’s edible gels and vape cartridges are some of the most popular products offered on its web- site. getfluent.com Green Dragon Founded in Colorado in 2009, Green Dragon now operates nearly 40 dispensaries across Florida with headquarters in Boynton Beach. Green Dragon dispensaries offer flower, concentrates, topicals, and edibles. greendragonfl.com GrowHealthy* GrowHealthy sells flower, vape cartridges, edibles, distillate syringes, topicals, and tinctures made with THC and CBD. Its locations collect do nations for the Last Prisoner Project, a nonprofit that works to release prisoners incarcerated for canna- bis offenses. GrowHealthy offers strains of flower grown outdoors in fields in Florida, which the com- pany touts as “similar to vintage wine” in that each batch possesses a unique aroma and flavor profile. growhealthy.com Jungle Boys* Word of mouth spread the name Jungle Boys across Florida long before the Los Angeles-based bud purveyors made landfall here, but the com- pany is plenty active — and popular — now. If you seek it, they likely stock it, from flower to concen- trates to grinders to vape pens, and at competi- tive prices. jungleboysflorida.com Müv* Starting with a light footprint in Florida, Müv has expanded to more than 70 locations across the state, making it the second-largest Florida canna- bis operator. The brand became part of Chicago- based Verano Holdings’ pot portfolio in 2020 via a merger with AltMed. With cultivation opera- tions based out of Apollo Beach, Müv offers flower, edibles, concentrates, pre-rolls, vape car- tridges, topical creams, and ointments. muvfl.com Rise Dispensaries* Based in Chicago, Green Thumb Industries over- sees a handful of cannabis brands, including Be- boe, Doctor Solomon’s, and Good Green, while operating dozens of dispensaries, including its Florida locations under the Rise moniker. South Florida is home to three dispensaries — in Kendall, Hallandale Beach, and Deerfield Beach — which, in addition to flower, offer edibles, extracts, tinc- tures, pre-rolls, vape cartridges, and apparel. gtigrows.com Sanctuary Medicinals Sanctuary is a national cannabis company that operates in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New Jersey in addition to Florida. The outfit bills itself as “more than just a dispensary; we are a community of like-minded individuals passionate about cannabis education and responsible con- sumption. The inventory is broad, from flower to concentrates, vapes, and more, and price specials are plentiful and often eye-catching. sanctuarymed.com Sunburn Cannabis In August 2022, MedMen, a national chain of can- nabis dispensaries that operated in six states, completed the sale of its Florida-based assets for $63 million to Fort Lauderdale-based Green Sen- try, a company run by attorney Brady Cobb. Cobb has rebranded the dispensaries under the Sun- burn name, apparently named after the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency operation that busted his dad, a prolific pot smuggler in the 1970s. sunburncannabis.com Sunnyside* Sunnyside is a national dispensary brand oper- ated by Cresco Labs, one of the largest vertically integrated cannabis companies in the nation. Pa- tients can purchase flower, vape cartridges and disposables, edibles, pre-rolls, concentrates, topi- cals (balm), and tinctures at Sunnyside’s stores in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. sunnyside.shop Surterra Wellness* Surterra is the fifth-largest cannabis operator in Florida by number of dispensaries and volume of cannabis sold. It has 45 locations across Florida, including outposts in Deerfield Beach, Fort Lau- derdale, Dadeland Mall, and Miami Beach. Surt- erra offers flower, edibles, concentrates, and vape cartridges; it made waves as the distributor of Justin Bieber’s “Peaches” pre-roll brand in 2021. surterra.com Trulieve* Trulieve is by far the largest cannabis company in Florida, with the most dispensaries and most marijuana sold weekly in the state. The outfit has 134 retail locations, nearly twice the amount op- erated by its nearest competitor, Müv. Trulieve has also been the most prominent corporate pro- ponent of pot legalization in Florida, single-hand- edly bankrolling a 2024 ballot initiative for recreational legalization. trulieve.com Planet 13 (formerly VidaCann) In May 2024, Nevada-based Planet 13 announced it had completed its completed its acquisition of VidaCann. Known as the “world’s largest canna- bis entertainment complex,” Planet 13 offers high- quality cannabis along with a unique, immersive customer experience. The company now oper- ates roughly 30 locations throughout Florida, in- cluding several in South Florida. planet13.com [email protected] Photo by Thanasis/Getty Images | METRO | REEFER REGISTRY Where to find the finest, dankest weed in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. BY MIAMI NEW TIMES STAFF & FREELANCERS
