Marijuana Being Sold in FL Gas Stations – Clarifying Misleading Clickbait Headlines

A few weeks ago, the internet exploded with headlines like, “Where to Get Legal Weed in Florida? Soon, at Your Local Circle K Gas Station,” “Circle K Gas Stations Are Adding a New Product for Convenient Pickup–Weed,” and “Pour Gas, Buy Some Weed? Cannabis to Be Sold at Circle K Gas Stations in Florida.” These headlines were hugely misleading.

Last week, new articles were published with headlines like, “Florida Steps in to Put Kibosh on Circle K Marijuana Plans,” which was also hugely misleading.

If you read the body of these articles, the misrepresentations made in their headlines become clear. The truth is as follows:

• Contrary to the headlines, Circle K, a Canadian convenience store and gas station operator with hundreds of locations in Florida, is NOT going to be selling marijuana. Circle K teamed up with Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries (“GTI”), a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company that holds a Florida medical marijuana treatment center (“MMTC”) license and owns and operates several dispensaries in the state.  The parties have agreed that GTI will open ten “RISE Express” dispensaries adjacent to Circle K convenience stores in Florida. Through an exclusive agreement between the two companies, GTI simply plans to lease from Circle K retail spaces that are next to the Circle K convenience stores. According to a GTI spokesperson, each RISE Express dispensary will have a separate entrance and cannot be entered from inside the Circle K. GTI’s products will not be sold by or within any Circle K.
• In response, the Florida Department of Health (DOH) simply stated that Florida has not yet approved the deal between GTI and Circle K. “This project has not been approved by the State. . . Florida has never approved a Medical Marijuana Treatment Center to operate out of a gas station.” The DOH did NOT “put a kibosh” on the agreement between GTI and Circle K as one headline suggested. Instead, the DOH merely stated what the law requires–namely, approval of the agreement by the DOH’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (OMMU).

While we do not know the specific terms of the agreement between GTI and Circle K, we assume that GTI intends to comply with all regulations required of a MMTC dispensing location (i.e., those concerning security, lighting, waiting rooms, etc.). For instance, § 381.986(8)(f), Florida Statutes (F.S.), requires the following regarding safety and security. Where the dispensing of marijuana occurs, an MMTC is required to maintain a fully operational security alarm system that secures all entry points and perimeter windows and is equipped with motion detectors; pressure switches; and duress, panic, and hold-up alarms; and maintain a video surveillance system that records continuously 24 hours a day and meets certain criteria. An MMTC must also ensure that its outdoor premises have sufficient lighting from dusk until dawn; and that the indoor premises where dispensing occurs includes a waiting area with sufficient space and seating to accommodate qualified patients and caregivers and at least one private consultation area that is isolated from the waiting area and area where dispensing occurs. An MMTC may not display products or dispense marijuana or marijuana delivery devices in the waiting area. In addition, an MMTC must not dispense from its premises marijuana or a marijuana delivery device between the hours of 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. but may perform all other operations and deliver marijuana to qualified patients 24 hours a day; and it must store marijuana in a secured, locked room or a vault. Further, it is required that at least two of an MMTCs employees, or two employees of a security agency with whom it contracts, be on the premises at all times where the storing of marijuana occurs.

The Florida Statutes also require GTI to submit the agreement with Circle K for approval to the Florida Department of Health’s Office of Medical Marijuana Use (“OMMU”). In fact, most deals like this include a condition that the agreement is contingent upon approval from the OMMU. Licensed MMTCs must always obtain approval from the OMMU before opening new dispensary locations. Further, § 381.986(8)(e), F.S., requires a licensed MMTC (i.e., GTI) to maintain compliance with the criteria demonstrated and representations made in its initial application. Upon request, however, the DOH may grant a MMTC a variance from the representations made in the initial application. The DOH will consider such request based upon the individual facts and circumstances surrounding the request. However, a variance may not be granted unless the requesting MMTC can demonstrate to the DOH that it has a proposed alternative to the specific representation made in its application which fulfills the same or a similar purpose as the specific representation in a way that the DOH can reasonably determine will not be a lower standard than the specific representation in the application. Moreover, if the agreement contemplates some sort of revenue sharing with Circle K, then this would certainly be a problem. But, again, we do not know the specific terms of the agreement. Surely, the DOH will make sure GTI can comply with all the safety and security requirements listed above before granting a variance and approving new dispensary locations.

The bottom line is this: do not be quick to believe headlines and read the body of the article. Circle K will NOT be selling marijuana and the DOH has not put a stop to the GTI-Circle K deal.