Terry Donnell Gwinn Will Be Floridas First Black MMTC License Holder

In March, Twelve Black farmers submitted applications in Florida for a lone medical marijuana license, potentially worth $50 million set aside as a result of The Pigford Black Farmer License (BLF), the 1997  v. Glickman class action lawsuit.

According to Politico “The Pigford class refers to a successful lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Agriculture that determined the agency had discriminated against Black farmers with federally subsidized-loans. Florida’s 2017 medical pot law created 10 new vertically-integrated licenses, but the application process used by the state Department of Health was sued heavily in court, including one unsuccessful challenge that ended in the state Supreme Court in May 2021.”

The state Department of Health on Tuesday announced it had issued a “written notice of intent” to approve a medical marijuana license for Terry Donnell Gwinn, of Gwinn Brothers Farms.

“Mr. Gwinn is very pleased that his application was selected for licensure and is grateful for the hard work by the Florida Department of Health, Office of Medical Marijuana Use, to complete the review of the applications received. He looks forward to working with the office to complete the final steps to licensure,” Gwinn’s attorney, Jim Mckee, said in a statement provided to The News Service of Florida.

Terry Donnell and Robert Gwinn have been farming together at Gwinn Brothers Farm near McAlpin for over 27 years. They have a rich farming heritage in Suwannee County and are well known and respected throughout Florida and South Georgia, not just for their expertise in farming but also for their conservation efforts.

On their 1,137-acre farm the Gwinn’s produce peanuts, iron clay peas, bahiagrass seed, hay, and beef cattle, but they are best known for their premium watermelons, which are sold locally and throughout the eastern United States. During watermelon season the brothers operate a packinghouse in McAlpin, where they employ local workers and high school kids.

The OMMU will issue up to 22 additional MMTC licenses to applicants that qualify under the current law (the General Application Round), thereby doubling the current number of MMTCs in the state.