The Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission said it plans to move ahead with accepting applications for new medical marijuana growing and processing businesses, despite one firm’s effort to block the industry expansion.
The commission, which regulates the state’s fledgling medical marijuana industry, began accepting new cannabis grower and processor license applications this week. The new licenses were made available in an attempt to increase diversity in the industry. An existing licensed cannabis company, Curio Wellness, filed a lawsuit in Baltimore County Circuit Court Monday in response to the application period opening, alleging that the new applications were being solicited in violation of the commission’s own regulations.
According to the suit, Curio alleges that the commission reneged on a promise to business owners that it would not license additional cannabis growers — beyond the 15 that were initially approved back in 2016 — without conducting a demand study. Such a study would demonstrate that additional supply was necessary and that expansion of the industry would not negatively impact existing licensees. That promise, Curio claims, induced businesses “to expend money…to apply for, construct and staff very expensive grower facilities in the hope of being awarded one of only a strictly-limited number of grower licenses.”
Curio claims it spent more than $10 million to build its cannabis growing operation in Lutherville-Timonium, based on that “promise.” The company, which also holds licenses to process and sell cannabis, said in the lawsuit that expanding the number of licenses without first completing a demand study could jeopardize the investments Curio and other growers have made. The suit was first reported by the Baltimore Sun.