Florida House wants to defend marijuana law that restricts number of businesses

“The Florida House of Representatives, as one-half of the state’s policymaking branch, is well-situated to respond to the plaintiff and the court in defense of [the 2017 law],” the House said in a January filing in circuit court. “Notably, the MMA [medical marijuana amendment] gives implementation authority — not policymaking authority — to the Department of Health, and the Florida Constitution’s strict, express separation of powers precludes this court from exercising policymaking authority. That leaves the Legislature with the sole constitutional authority to make the necessary policy choices for how to implement the MMA within the limits of an otherwise conflicting and superseding federal drug policy.”