A cannabis investor sued Florida regulators for allegedly approving a request by private equity firm Gotham Green Partners to have ownership positions in two vertically integrated medical marijuana licenses in the state.
Investor Michael Weisser and medical cannabis patient advocates filed the suit Friday in the state’s 2nd Judicial Court in Tallahassee, according to Politico.
The lawsuit cited the state’s medical marijuana law that prohibits an individual or entity from “directly or indirectly” having an ownership stake greater than 5% in more than one license.
The Florida Office of Medical Marijuana Use granted a variance to Gotham Green that allows the New York-based investment firm to own more than 5% of iAnthus Capital Holdings and MedMen Enterprises licenses, according to Politico.
“This is such a blatant violation of the regulations, it’s unbelievable,” Weisser told Politico. “(The regulators) just want to sweep it under the table.”
New York-based iAnthus has 18 MMJ dispensaries in Florida under the GrowHealthy brand. Los Angeles-headquartered MedMen has seven dispensaries in Florida, according to the state’s most recent weekly update.
2024 MJBiz Factbook – now available!
Exclusive industry data and analysis to help you make informed business decisions and avoid costly missteps. All the facts, none of the hype.
Featured inside:
- Financial forecasts + capital investment trends
- 200+ pages and 49 charts highlighting key data figures and sales trends
- State-by-state guide to regulations, taxes & market opportunities
- Monthly and quarterly updates, with new data & insights
- And more!
New York-based Gotham Green has been seeking to take control of iAnthus after the company defaulted on its debt and was forced to reorganize its finances under Canadian court supervision.
Weisser also claimed in the lawsuit that state regulators thwarted his efforts to obtain documents about the variance through public-record requests.
