Ohio lawsuit wants medical marijuana grower licenses revoked

Published: Feb 21, 2018, 8:05 am • Updated: Feb 21, 2018, 8:05 am

By The Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A lawsuit filed by some unsuccessful applicants to grow medical marijuana in Ohio claims state regulators failed to follow their own rules last year when they awarded provisional licenses for growing facilities.

Several groups including CannAscend Ohio LLC filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Franklin County Common Pleas Court in Columbus. The lawsuit challenges the Ohio Department of Commerce’s process for awarding the provisional licenses to 12 companies for large-scale growing facilities.

In-Depth: Six applicants denied medical marijuana grow licenses are suing Ohio

The lawsuit alleges various failures in the licensing process, including “scoring errors, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and undisclosed loopholes in the security of information.” It asks a judge to revoke the licenses and prevent the department from issuing operators’ permits to the companies.

Department spokeswoman Stephanie Gostomski said Tuesday that the department can’t comment on pending litigation.

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