Columbia Care Dispensary, 318 NW 13th St., will be the fifth in Gainesville.

One of the nation’s largest manufacturers and providers of medical cannabis will open its first Florida location in Gainesville next week.

Columbia Care Dispensary will open at 318 NW 13th St., the former location of ABC Liquors and now a newly constructed building.

The 4,080 square-foot dispensary will have a grand opening Tuesday.

Arnetta Shettleworth, Columbia Care Florida’s marketing director, said the company is excited to expand its market to Florida.

“Our knowledgeable team is committed to providing a best-in-class experience and to educating our patients on the most effective medicines to address their needs,” she said in a statement.

The Gainesville location is the first of 20 dispensaries Columbia Care expects to open in the Sunshine State in 2019.

Construction of a 40,000 square-foot cultivation and manufacturing facility in Lakeland is also expected to be completed by October.

Columbia Care Dispensary will by Gainesville’s fifth medical cannabis facility. Knox Medical, 3400 SW 34th St., and Trulieve, 1527 NW Sixth St., opened in 2017 as Gainesville’s first dispensaries.

Curaleaf, 2300 SW 34 St., and Liberty Health Sciences, 12 SW Second St., opened earlier this year.

Erik Bredfeldt, the director of economic development and innovation for the city of Gainesville, said the recent growth of the medical cannabis industry in the city reflects Gainesville’s innovation culture.

“In a way, this represents a startup opportunity,” he said.

Gainesville has long been keen on innovation, he said, and its strong medical and health care economy are likely factors that draw cannabis companies to town as the industry figures out its footing.

“There’s a lot of ebb and flow in the industry,” he said.

Florida’s medical cannabis market was approximately $200 million in 2018 and has become the largest market in the nation, according to the Office of Medical Marijuana Use.

New Frontier Data expects the Florida medical cannabis market to approach $1.6 billion by 2020.

The Florida 1st District Court of Appeal ruled Tuesday to strike down a state law that capped the number of medical cannabis operators in the state, and that firms are not required to immediately register with state health officials to do business, The News Service of Florida reported.

Columbia Care Dispensary in Gainesville will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.