Arkansas medical marijuana growers sue to keep others from entering market

Five Arkansas companies with permits to grow medical cannabis are suing to stop three more cultivation licenses from being issued.

The lawsuit claims the three licenses that were issued in June violate language in the law that stipulated new licenses would be granted only if the existing growers couldn’t meet dispensary demand, according to the Arkansas Times.

The plaintiffs – Bold Team, Natural State Medicinals Cultivation, Natural State Wellness Enterprises, Osage Creek Cultivation and Delta Medical Cannabis – are suing:

• The Arkansas Finance and Administration Department.
• The state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.
• The Medical Marijuana Commission.
• The three new cultivation licensees: Carpenter Farms Medical Group, New Day Cultivation and River Valley Relief Cultivation.

State regulators were allowed to issue up to eight cultivation licenses under the 2016 law that legalized MMJ in Arkansas.