Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried to hire cannabis director and tweak gun permit process

TALLAHASSEE — One of the first things Florida’s top Democrat, Nikki Fried, will do now that she is agriculture commissioner will be to hire a cannabis director to oversee the burgeoning industries of agricultural hemp and medical marijuana edibles in the state.

Fried said in an interview she hopes to fill the cannabis director position with a candidate who shares her views on medical marijuana, an issue that worked like a firecracker in her campaign. 

Fried promises to expand patient access to medical marijuana and transform Florida into a national leader on hemp production, an industry that could bring millions of dollars into the state economy.

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The Florida Department for Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees certain state regulations on medical marijuana edibles, like food safety and pesticide use on the crop. The agency is also charged with setting up rules for harvesting hemp, a strain of the same plant species from which marijuana originates.

The state Department of Health, under Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, largely regulates the medical marijuana business through its Office of Medical Marijuana Use, but Fried still has some regulatory power over the manufacturing aspect of the business.

“The plan is that we will deal with the back end of the edibles between the food safety and inspection within a very short period of time,” Fried said. “We do not have to wait on the Department of Health to get going on that.”

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As she hits the ground running on that end, Fried, a lawyer who previously worked as a medical marijuana lobbyist in the state, said those who work in her agency ought to be aligned with her views, likely meaning Democrats.

“We have done a thorough review of all of our 17 divisions and making sure that the people that are in charge, the number ones and number twos, are aligned with the visions of this administration,” Fried said.

In part, that means cleaning house in the agency’s division of licensing, which oversees the concealed carry gun permitting process that was criticized under Republican Adam Putnam's previous administration.

Two internal investigations found issues associated with the way background checks were conducted, including a yearlong lapse in full background checks that resulted in more than 300 concealed weapon permits being revoked after the problem was identified.

Concerned with those findings, Fried vowed to improve training for employees overseeing the concealed gun permitting process as well as turning those part-time positions into full-time jobs to ensure full background checks are conducted on all applicants.

“The whole issue is about making sure background checks are done in a thorough manner. I am not looking to prolong the process or deny their applications or permits if they are deemed qualified,” Fried said.

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That means that under her administration it is unlikely that veterans will have their gun permits expedited, like tens of thousands were under Putnam’s administration, a move that was praised by the National Rifle Association.

On the campaign trail, Fried made clear she would protect the Second Amendment but would add more safeguards to the process. She vowed to not allow the NRA, or any outside group, to influence the rules in her agency.

There has been discussion of moving the concealed gun permitting process away from Fried's agency. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer wants to move the responsibilities under Republican Jimmy Patronis’ Department of Financial Services, while Democrats in the state Legislature are exploring moving the gun permitting process under the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

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Sens. Lauren Book, of Plantation, and Linda Stewart, of Orlando, are championing those efforts to ensure law enforcement has oversight over that process. But Stewart said she is not yet confident there will be a big push to do so.

“FDLE is a little bit nervous about it because there is a lot more than just taking it over,” Stewart said, such as funding. “What we are trying to discuss and talk through now is if there is a place under the agriculture commissioner that could include law enforcement and do it under that.”

Democrats expect Republicans will counter with legislation to move gun permit issuance under Patronis’ office, but nothing has been filed yet. Any attempts to take those responsibilities from Fried would have to pass the Legislature and get support from DeSantis.

“I’m not going to be in this position forever, and I want to make sure that whatever the outcome is, it is in the best interest of the state,” Fried said when asked whether she worried the Legislature could strip her power.

“I don’t see it as a stripping of power. I will be working with the Legislature and figuring out the best way to oversee the process,” Fried added.

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Fried will also need help from the Legislature to address aspects affecting the hemp industry since Congress recently passed an omnibus farm bill.

Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican, said he will be a “100 percent friendly budget chair” to hemp-related legislation, including tweaks in criminal statutes that could act as barriers on marijuana product sales and money borrowing for the hemp industry.

“We have Senate staff right now reviewing what we can and cannot do, but we want to make sure nothing in state law is a barrier for the industry,” said Bradley, who added the hemp industry could compensate losses in the state’s citrus industry as a result of greening, a bacterial disease that sours the fruit and kills the trees.

As stakeholders in the hemp industry wait on the Legislature, Fried is expected to set up implementation rules for industrial hemp as soon as a cannabis director is picked in the coming week.

“I want our citrus industry to bounce back; that is a priority. But I do see us as leaders not just in the country but in the world, on our production of hemp and manufacturing on it,” Fried said.

“It will be billions of dollars in revenue to our economy.”

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