TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The 1st District Court of Appeal is scheduled to hold arguments Feb. 12 in a dispute about whether a Tampa businessman should be able to grow medical marijuana as part of his treatment for cancer.
The appeals court Monday gave notice that it will hear arguments in the case, which pits the Florida Department of Health against Joe Redner, who made his fortune as a strip-club owner.
The Department of Health took the case to the appeals court after Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers ruled in April that Redner can grow his own marijuana under a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized cannabis for medical purposes.
Redner’s doctor ordered a juicing treatment that uses live marijuana plants to prevent a relapse of stage 4 lung cancer, according to court documents. But attorneys for the state contend the constitutional amendment does not give people the right to grow their own marijuana and that only licensed businesses, known as medical marijuana treatment centers, are allowed to grow, process and sell marijuana.