Cookies cannabis brand comes to Florida

Cookies, the popular California-based marijuana company, opened its first Florida outpost in Westchester over the weekend.

Driving the news: The dispensary, at 8303 Bird Road, started selling medical marijuana on Saturday.

State of play: Rapper and entrepreneur Berner (aka Gilbert Milam Jr.) founded Cookies 10 years ago and has since grown it into a billion-dollar company with 49 dispensaries.

• The business, which sells strains named after The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" or San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, also has a successful clothing line with two flagship stores in California.

Between the lines: A web of federal, state and local laws governing marijuana sales can make it challenging for cannabis companies to find suitable retail locations, The Real Deal explained.

• A cannabis holding and operating company called TRP, which is behind the Westchester store, is partnering with marijuana brands like Cookies to cut through red tape and open locations.

What's ahead: The companies have plans to open 10 Cookies stores in Florida in the coming year and 25 eventually.