Arkansas judge considers effort to halt marijuana license

LITTLE ROCK—An Arkansas judge said Friday he'll rule by the middle of next week on whether to allow the state to issue its first licenses for companies to grow medical marijuana after hearing complaints from an unsuccessful applicant challenging the permitting process.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen did not rule after hearing testimony from the state and Naturalis Health LLC, which wants the 95 applications for medical marijuana cultivation facilities to be re-scored by an independent evaluator. The Medical Marijuana Commission had planned to issue licenses to the top five applicants on Wednesday, but Griffen issued a temporary restraining order halting the process so he considered the request for a preliminary injunction.

"This is a potential billion dollar industry," Keith Billingsley, an attorney for Naturalis, said during closing arguments. "Ninety-five people submitted applications and spent a lot of time, including my client, on this process assuming the state of Arkansas would get it right, that the state of Arkansas would conduct a blind examination of applications and that it would be done in a fair and impartial way."

Naturalis ranked 38th out of the 95 applications submitted, state officials said.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2018/mar/17/arkansas-judge-considers-effort-halt-marijuana-license/717862/