Nevada OKs partial settlement in marijuana licensing lawsuit

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Nevada’s Tax Commission endorsed a partial settlement to resolve a consolidated lawsuit from a group of cannabis companies that claimed the state’s first round of recreational marijuana licensing was unfair.

The state issued 61 permits in its adult-use licensing round in late 2018, but critics said the process favored certain well-capitalized businesses over other, smaller players.

The settlement agreement with the state’s Department of Taxation covers 17 companies:

  • Cheyenne Medical.
  • Commerce Park Medical.
  • CPCM Holdings.
  • ETW Management Group.
  • Global Harmony.
  • Greenmart of Nevada NLV.
  • Helping Hands Wellness Center.
  • Just Quality.
  • Libra Wellness Centre.
  • LivFree Wellness.
  • Lone Mountain Partners.
  • MM Development Co.
  • Nevada Organic Remedies.
  • Nevada Wellness Centre.
  • Qualcan.
  • Rombough Real Estate.
  • Zion Gardens.

Under the settlement, those companies will transfer some marijuana business licenses among themselves and dismiss legal claims in some related cases, The Nevada Independent reported.

Nevada will also issue a conditional license to Henderson-based LivFree, which will be held in abeyance until certain conditions are met.

Other Nevada cannabis companies said they were left out of the settlement, according to the Independent.

The settlement must be approved by the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board.

According to the Independent, the board’s executive director said the panel “had reviewed the agreement and was prepared to carry out its provisions.”

Nevada voters approved a 2018 launch of adult-use marijuana sales, but regulators gave the market a jump-start by allowing medical cannabis operators to begin recreational sales in July 2017.