Indopedia All Things Marijuana
It’s taken four years for Maryland’s Medical Cannabis Commission to award final permits and licenses to actually get the MMJ program off the ground, and now, just weeks after the state’s first licensed grower was awarded his final paperwork, the program has been temporarily halted by a judge who is unconvinced the Commission did their due diligence when it comes to seeking racial diversity.
According to the Baltimore Sun, a new ruling from Circuit Judge Barry Williams has restricted the Commission from handing out any more cultivation licenses for at least 10 days, and possibly longer.
The temporary kibosh stems from a petition from the people behind Alternative Medicine Maryland, a minority-owned company that was passed up for licensing by the Maryland Commission. The petition claimed that the lack of diversity considerations was potentially unconstitutional, and should lead to a complete refresh of the licensing process.
“Time is of the essence,” the petition read. “It is undisputed that the commission made no attempt to … actively seek racial and ethnic diversity throughout the licensing process.”
For now, Alternative Medicine Maryland’s wish has…
