Arkansas Judge Rules That Medical Marijuana Regulators Exceeded Authority In Issuing Dispensary License

[ad_1]

“The Court finds that the MMC has not acted within its own ministerial duty and has exceeded its discretion.”

By Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate

A circuit judge ruled last week that Arkansas’s Medical Marijuana Commission wrongfully issued a dispensary license to a Fort Smith cultivation facility, reiterating a previous ruling.

Bennett “Storm” Nolan received a license to operate River Valley Relief Cultivation in 2020 despite the address on the application being too close to the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center. Amendment 98, the 2016 voter-approved constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana in Arkansas, prohibits dispensaries within 3,000 feet of a school.

“The application itself conceded that SCJDC was a school pursuant to Amendment 98 and was within 3,000 feet of the proposed cultivation facility,” Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herbert Wright wrote in his ruling.

Additionally, Nolan dissolved the dispensary’s holding company, River Valley Production, in 2019 after not receiving one of the first five licenses the Medical Marijuana Commission issued, Wright wrote. The reason for dissolution was that the company “never started business,” according to documents submitted to the court by the plaintiff, 2600 Holdings.

Wright expressed disapproval of the commission granting the license to a dissolved company.

“The Court remains curious as to why so many accommodations were made for Mr. Nolan, despite concerns and protests being repeatedly raised from the beginning of the application process,” Wright wrote. “The Rules were never changed. The process was not altered. But the license was granted. It is difficult to come to any other conclusion than [that] MMC was committed to placing Mr. Nolan in charge of a cultivation facility, notwithstanding all of the clear defects in the RVRC application.”

Nolan could not be reached for comment Friday, but he told the Arkansas Times he plans to appeal Wright’s ruling and will keep the dispensary operational as long as he still has the license.

Abtin Mehdizadegan, an attorney representing 2600 Holdings, said he does not “see a basis for the appeal” and hopes the Arkansas Supreme Court will uphold Wright’s ruling.

“You cannot waive the constitutional requirements, and [River Valley’s] application concedes, admits and explains that their application was submitted under a property address that was too close to a school,” Mehdizadegan said.

2600 Holdings does business as Southern Roots Cultivation and unsuccessfully applied for an Arkansas dispensary license. The company filed a legal complaint in 2021 over the issues with River Valley Relief Cultivation’s application, asking the court to require the Medical Marijuana Commission to revoke Nolan’s license.

Wright ruled in 2022 that the commission issued the license in error, and he did not allow Nolan to join the case as a defendant. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded the ruling in April 2024, stating that Nolan should have been a party in the case, which he now is.

Amendment 98 allows for 40 licensed dispensaries statewide, and only 37 are currently active.

Wright said in Monday’s ruling that he does not have the authority to grant or revoke dispensary licenses.

“But the Court does have the duty, when entreated, to point out when the State has exceeded the authority granted to it by the voters of the State of Arkansas in a constitutional amendment,” Wright wrote. “…The Court finds that the MMC has not acted within its own ministerial duty and has exceeded its discretion.”

The commission will discuss the lawsuit at its monthly meeting Thursday.

This story was first published by Arkansas Advocate.

Wisconsin Governor Wants To Let Voters Legalize Marijuana By Putting It On The Ballot, As GOP Legislature Blocks Reform

Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan.

Marijuana Moment is made possible with support from readers. If you rely on our cannabis advocacy journalism to stay informed, please consider a monthly Patreon pledge.

[ad_1]

Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=677ca2e943014e8e96c9c451175d4f3d&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marijuanamoment.net%2Farkansas-judge-rules-that-medical-marijuana-regulators-exceeded-authority-in-issuing-dispensary-license%2F&c=7224504953724189863&mkt=en-us Author : Publish date : 2025-01-06 06:07:00 Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source .