Florida Trend | Florida's Business Authority

Thursday's Afternoon Update

Growing pains for medical marijuana in Florida

The number of patients being prescribed marijuana by doctors in Florida is growing fast, but the number of farms growing the plants is not. Right now, more than 144,000 patients are registered to receive medical marijuana. The number of patients has doubled since January 2018. Some businesses say they're having a difficult time keeping up with demand. More from NBC Miami.

See also:
» Charlie Crist sponsors bill allowing veterans to use medical marijuana
» From pills to pot: Patients turn from opioids to medical marijuana
» Curaleaf opens first local medical marijuana dispensary in south Orlando
» Medical cannabis dispensary opening its doors in Sarasota

Summit touts Jacksonville as hub for LNG

Jacksonville’s port regularly gets fuel tankers steaming up the St. Johns River, but with the recent boom in natural gas, U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho envisions a future when vessels are leaving Jacksonville loaded with liquefied natural gas for export to overseas markets. More from the Florida Times-Union.

Tech firms — from Fort Lauderdale and Sarasota — join forces

NXTurn, a Fort Lauderdale-based Oracle NetSuite Solution Partner, acquired Sarasota-based CumulusERP, a full-service enterprise resource planning and technology consulting firm. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. More from the Business Observer.

Will Florida be the next state to expand Medicaid?

It’s been over three years since the Florida Legislature debated -- and rejected -- a proposal to expand Medicaid. Expansion would make hundreds of thousands of uninsured Floridians eligible for the government healthcare insurance program for low-income people. More from WLRN.

Column: The Miami-Dade farm of the future is being created in a lab at the University of Florida

The farm of the future is being created in a lab — a drone that can spot a single bug in an acre of strawberries, a robot that blasts weeds without spraying tomatoes, a gas capsule that keeps vegetables crispy and fresh while they’re in the mail. Technology can help us curb the trend of importing more and more of our food. More from the Miami Herald.

Legal News
Trip Scott recognizes two directors selected as 2018 Legal Elite Honorees

 The 2018 list of Florida Trend Legal Elites includes two of Tripp Scott's directors: Catalina Avalos and Stephanie Toothaker. [Sponsored Report]

» Full story here.

 

Business Profile
UniFirst Ocala

floridaHot summer days in Florida don’t go unnoticed working for UniFirst, an industrial laundry company that deals with uniforms on a daily basis. Employees who work for UniFirst Ocala can cool off with a special treat or two from the ice cream truck that visits the plant on the company’s dollar. Something as simple as a popsicle helped land the company on Florida Trend magazine’s annual list of the state’s best companies to work for.

» Read more from the Ocala Star-Banner.