A State Supreme Court Judge blocked the state’s retail cannabis licensing program on Friday.
Judge Kevin Bryant blocked the state from processing or issuing cannabis dispensary licenses with an injunction that faulted regulators for creating a program that is at odds with the state law that legalized the drug.
The order represents a severe setback for the state’s legal cannabis industry, which has been defined by a slow licensing rollout, a glut of excess cannabis crops, and legal challenges that have allowed an illicit market to boom
A veterans’ lawsuit argues that state cannabis regulators improperly limited the initial round of licenses to people with prior cannabis convictions, rather than a wider group of so-called social equity applicants included in the original law. The judge last week temporarily blocked the state’s program as legal arguments in the case played out, with Friday’s order extending the shut down.
In a statement, a representative for the veterans said state regulators’ failure to follow the law have kept licenses out of the hands of veterans and other minority groups who were supposed to be prioritized.
The state Office of Cannabis Management did not immediately have a comment on the order Friday.
The judge did grant an exemption to his order for licensees who met all the state’s requirements before August 7 and is allowing applicants who are seeking an exemption to present their case before the court on a case-by-case basis. He has also ordered for state regulators to convene and begin finalizing cannabis licensing rules.
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