After three and a half long years Florida finally issued 22 new medical operator licenses on Sept. 11, in an attempt to keep pace with the state’s ever-growing registered patient population.
The new licenses will almost double the existing medical licenses in the state, potentially creating competition for a market that is largely dominated by multi-state organizations. The state market generated an estimated $2 billion in sales in 2025, and includes almost 1 million registered patients from a population of about 23.5 million, as of July 1.
“This has been a long road, and we’re grateful to everyone who supported us throughout the process. Florida patients deserve operators who are built to last, and that’s what we’ve spent the past three years becoming. The real work starts now,” said Dustin Robinson, founder of Global Investment Group Inc. doing business as Infinite Wellness
Infinite Wellness will enter what is arguably the largest cannabis market in the country where adult-use is not legal.
There are currently 27 active vertically integrated licenses that can operate multiple shops. Currently 23 license holders have operational retail locations. Four license holders control over half of the total 779 dispensaries statewide. Trulieve Inc. has the most with 170 dispensing locations. MUV, which is owned by Verano, Curaleaf and Ayr Wellness round out the top four, which control a total of 398 dispensaries throughout the Sunshine State.
After initial licensure, each MMTC must receive authorization at three stages prior to dispensing product, including separate authorizations for cultivation, processing and dispensing.
“Securing an MMTC license is one of the most competitive processes in cannabis law, and finishing sixth out of 22 winners is a testament to the caliber of work our team put into this application,” said Robinson. “We didn’t just draft the application. We built this business from the ground up: over 100 contracts, the acquisition of the Ruskin cultivation farm, leases across multiple retail locations, the capital raise and every corporate document in between. This was one of the most demanding, all-encompassing engagements our firm has handled, and seeing it culminate in a license award on September 11 is incredibly rewarding.”
State law requires that four new medical cannabis licenses be made available, in addition to the original 24, for every 100,000 patients who enroll. The 22 new licenses announced in 2023 were to be the first new licenses since the market launched in 2016. There are currently 941,271 registered medical patients in the state, as of September 11, so technically, the state should have 36 additional licenses available.
Since the market’s launch, the state has awarded three additional licenses to so-called Pigford/Black Farmer applicants who were given an opportunity to apply as a result of a lawsuit.
The Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU), which is a part of the state’s Department of Health, announced in April 2023, that 22 new medical licenses would be made available. Shortly after, the state began accepting applications. Ultimately, 74 organizations and individuals filed for one of the 22 licenses.
The state announced a tentative list of license winners on Nov. 26, 2024. It less than a month for applicants who were not chosen to file requests for administrative hearings. In what was eventually made into a single consolidated case, the petitioners all argued that they should have received higher scores and that they should have been among the 22 chosen winners.
Their arguments were unsuccessful.
“None of the evaluator testimony demonstrated that any Petitioner’s application was comparatively better than that of the intended awardees. To the contrary, each evaluator explained to the best of their
ability why Petitioners received the scores that they did and why Petitioners scored lower than intended awardees,” wrote Administrative Law Judge Mary Li Creasy in a 133-page order issued on May 11, 2026, effectively ending the appellate process.
Efforts to legalize adult-use in Florida have been unsuccessful. Voters had the chance to legalize in 2024, but were only able to garner 54% of the vote. Under state law, successful ballot measures must have at least 60% of the vote.
Trulieve led the fundraising effort for that campaign, chipping in over $140 million.
Another attempt to get on the ballot in 2026 failed when organizers were unable to secure the 880,062 signatures needed.
OMMU did not respond to requests for comment.
