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Marijuana Provider Worried About DOH Pesticide Rules

Lawmakers have tried and failed for years, but perhaps 2015 is the year medical marijuana comes to Florida.
Scott Beale via Flickr

A marijuana provider has raised concerns with the Florida Department of Health’s proposed pesticide rules, and both sides have a deadline for a compromise.

Liberty Health Sciences filed an administrative challenge over the Department of Health’s marijuana pesticide ruling.  The rules allow pesticides that are classified as “minimum risk” to be used for growing and harvesting the plant. That includes natural organic oils, citric acid, sodium chloride, and malic acid among others. The Canadian-based company fears the rules will hurt the state’s cannabis industry.

Liberty Health Sciences says the ruling bars medical marijuana treatment centers from using many pesticides that have been approved for organic crop production without any scientific or legal evidence.

Administrative law judge June McKinney has ordered both sides provide status reports by May 7th.