A proposed settlement in an ongoing lawsuit between Nevada officials and cannabis businesses would transfer some industry operator licenses to businesses that were denied approval during the state’s 2018 licensing round, the Nevada Current reports. Despite the proposal, some plaintiffs say they were shut out of the negotiations, allege collusion in the process, and are asking a judge to prevent officials from approving the deal.
The plaintiffs in the case claim regulators unfairly grated the bulk of the cannabis industry licenses to a few operators. In 2018, 61 state licenses were issued to just 17 applicants, the Current reports.
- The settlement would shift 10 industry licenses from approved defendants to plaintiffs and force the state to issue one additional license.
- The deal would see one of Lone Mountain’s Las Vegas licenses awarded to Qualcan, while licenses held by Lone Montain in Washoe, Lincoln, and Esmerelda Counties would be given to ETW Management. A Lone Mountain Douglas County license would also be transferred to Thrive.
- Qualcan would also receive a Carson City license from Nevada Organic Remedies, owners of The Source. Nevada Organics would also assign a Clark County license to MM Development, owners of Planet 13.
- Thrive would also assign a City of Henderson license to ETW.
- Helping Hands would assign a Clark County license to LivFree, who would also receive a new license from the state for Henderson.
- GreenMart would transfer a Clark County license to Nevada Wellness Center.
The settlement would also force the companies receiving a license to join the state in defending the lawsuit against the other claimants not awarded a license in the settlement.
Attorneys for THC NV and Herbal Choice – two companies that were not provided relief under the proposal – called the settlement “collusively procured” and said that their clients were deliberately and intentionally omitted from the decision-making process.
Attorney Amy Sugden told the Current that she intends to challenge the Tax Commission’s jurisdiction over the agreement since the industry is regulated by the Cannabis Control Board.
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