A second would-be medical marijuana cultivator in Maryland is joining a lawsuit against the state Cannabis Commission on the grounds that they, too, were unfairly denied a license by the commission, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Maryland Cultivation and Processing is asking to join the lawsuit filed by GTI Maryland because they say that they were initially ranked in the top 15 applicants for a preliminary license, but were excluded in order for the commission to grant the licenses to two lower-ranked companies in Southern and Southeastern parts of the state.
Ed Weidenfeld, a partner and lawyer for Maryland Cultivation and Processing, said the two companies “have been deprived of what [Maryland] not only promised, but voted to do.”
“Our interests are affected by the outcome, and we want to be sure that we’ve got a voice in the trial,” he said in the report.
MMCC Commissioner Buddy Robshaw said that the law requires geographic diversity in its license awards and that the commission acted within the confines of the law.
In addition to the lawsuit, the state Legislative Black Caucus is challenging the approvals because no licenses were awarded to companies lead by minorities or women. Ex-Baltimore Raven Eugene Monroe, an African-American and investor in GTI, said the commission’s decision is akin to changing the rules of a game after it has been played.
“One lesson I learned early in life, and it’s followed me throughout my football career, is that you don’t change the rules after the game has been played,” Monroe said in an Associated Press report. “Yet, that is what happened here.”
The caucus is considering introducing emergency legislation to halt the program and force the commission to reassess the candidates.
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