ANNA MARIA – Because she sells CBD products, Edibles N More owner Mel Wendel wasn’t allowed to participate in the Feed the Island art and craft show at Roser Church on Feb. 9-10.
Danielle Lynch owns and operates Blue Ribbon Events, a company that organizes arts and craft fairs in Michigan and Florida. In Anna Maria, these events require a city commission-approved special event permit.
On the morning of Feb. 8, Lynch received a call from Deputy City Clerk Fran Berrios informing her that CBD and hemp sales are not allowed in Anna Maria.
CBD products don’t contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that produces the euphoric “high.”
Lynch and Wendel appeared before the city commission that afternoon. After Lynch requested Wendel and her husband be allowed to participate in that weekend’s event, Mayor Dan Murphy asked what they planned to sell.
Wendel said their Holmes Beach-based Edibles N More retail store and their affiliated Vape on the Go business sells CBD and hemp-based products including edibles, topicals and smokeables, and that’s what they’d be selling.
“It’s listed as an arts and crafts festival and you’re wanting to sell CBD products. It’s not an art or a craft. It’s something else,” Murphy noted.
City Attorney Becky Vose said, “If they’re going to do something other than arts and crafts, the permit needs to be looked at again.”
Wendel claimed the city already set legal precedent by allowing other businesses in the city to sell CBD products. She said Beach Bum Apothecary is producing and selling CBD products, some of which she sells at Edibles N More, and Cool Beans AMI is selling products containing low levels of THC.
Wendel said the federal 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and it’s no longer considered marijuana. She noted the city of Holmes Beach amended its ordinance to exclude hemp from its definition of marijuana.
“Every item in our store is derived from hemp,” Wendel said, noting Publix and Live Naturally also legally sell CBD products in Holmes Beach.
Commissioner Gary McMullen said, “I think it’s unfair to single them out if we have other people in the city already doing the same thing.”
Murphy said he doesn’t recall CBD sales ever being permitted in Anna Maria.
“If somebody’s doing something illegal that we don’t know about that doesn’t set a precedent,” he said, noting the commission could address CBD sales with future ordinances.
Murphy suggested giving Vose time to review the matter and provide him with a legal opinion before the Friday morning event began. The following morning, Murphy sent Lynch an email containing his decision and Vose’s three-page memo that he based his decision on.
“It is my conclusion that the sale of hemp-based products is prohibited by our local ordinances,” Murphy stated in his email, noting the decision also pertains to the event Lynch is hosting at City Pier Park on March 9-10.
In her memo, Vose stated, “It is my legal opinion that the sale of CBD products within the city of Anna Maria is prohibited under Section 34-2 of the city’s code of ordinances, and that such ordinance can be enforced regardless of the change of status of CBD and hemp under general Florida law.”
Regarding the 2018 Farm Bill, Vose wrote, “It is clear that certain types of hemp are no longer illegal in Florida. However, that does not mean local governments cannot regulate matters related to hemp, even if otherwise legal.”
