A Baltimore judge has rejected arguments to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Maryland’s medical marijuana commission broke program rules when it awarded cultivation business licenses earlier this year.
The ruling means the case must go to trial, yet another twist in the saga that is Maryland’s medical cannabis program.
The lawsuit was brought by Maryland Cultivation and Processing and GTI Maryland, whose applications scored among the top 15 for business grow licenses.
But state regulators rejected their applications in favor of two other lower-scoring businesses they said were in locations – Southern Maryland and the lower Eastern Shore – that broadened the geographic distribution of growers, as the state’s MMJ law mandates, according to the newspaper.
The two plaintiff firms have charged that regulators never told applicants geographic location would be a factor in how licenses would be awarded, making the entire process unfair.
A trial date has not been set, the Sun reported.
