ANNA MARIA – The city is one step closer to adopting a new ordinance that will grant grandfathering status for businesses that already sold CBD and/or hemp products as of April 1.
On April 25, a previously discussed city ordinance, Ordinance 24-923, was presented to the city commission on first reading. The second reading and final adoption of the ordinance is expected on May 9.
The ordinance amends Section 34-2 of the city’s code of ordinances, which currently prohibits the growth, distribution, or sale of marijuana, medical marijuana, or any product derived from the cannabis plant, including hemp and CBD.
According to the proposed amended ordinance, “The growing, processing, distributing and sale of marijuana within the city limits of Anna Maria is hereby prohibited. Marijuana shall be defined for purposes of this section to include all parts of any plant of the genus cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin ex-tracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin, including but not limited to ‘low-THC cannabis,’ as defined in Florida Statute 381.986.”
However, the proposed ordinance includes new language that will provide grandfathering status for Anna Maria businesses that already sell CBD or hemp products.
According to the proposed ordinance, “Businesses with a business location in the city of Anna Maria – not to include mobile sales – that, as of April 1, 2024, regularly sold product that would otherwise have been prohibited shall be eligible to receive grandfather status to continue such sales, but not to increase the volume of such sales, in accordance with procedures set forth in a resolution to be adopted by the city commission.”
Anna Maria businesses that did not sell CBD or hemp products prior to April 1 will not be eligible for the grandfathering status.
The yet-to-be-presented city resolution referenced in the proposed ordinance will establish the specific procedures to be followed by those seeking the grandfathering status, including a registration process.
During the April 25 meeting, Mayor Dan Murphy said the city is currently aware of three Anna Maria businesses that sell hemp and/or CBD products. The North Shore Café sells food and drink items that include hemp powder with miniscule amounts of THC. The Cool Beans AMI coffee shop sells CBD products in addition to coffee, food items and other non-CBD products. AMI Beach & Dog Supply sells canine-grade CBD products.
Murphy said any additional businesses that sold CBD and/or hemp products as of April 1 and want to continue doing so must notify the city soon and be able to prove those pre-April 1 sales.
The proposed ordinance notes, “Nothing in this ordinance shall be construed to allow the sale of any product, the sale of which is otherwise prohibited by Florida law as then applicable.”
City Attorney Becky Vose said this provision addresses the possibility that Gov. Ron DeSantis may soon sign into state law proposed state legislation that would further restrict CBD sales and the potency of CBD products legally sold in Florida. Vose said there’s a strong possibility that many currently legal CBD/THC products would be made illegal by the proposed state legislation.
As of April 27, the proposed CBD legislation created by Senate Bill 1698 and House Bill 1613 had not yet been transmitted to DeSantis to veto, sign into new state law, or allow to become new state law without his signature.
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