The Missouri Supreme Court ruled in favor of allowing a California cannabis company that failed to acquire a license to access competitors' applications that were approved by the state Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS).
Citing Article XIV of the Missouri Constitution, the state's highest court ruled that confidential information is allowed to be used for purposes of appeal.
“The Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) did not err in sustaining Kings Garden’s motion to compel and ordering the production of certain confidential information pursuant to a protective order,” Judge George Draper III wrote in the Feb. 8 opinion. “Consequently, the circuit court did not err in denying the Department’s petition for a writ of prohibition.”
After Kings Garden Midwest, known in Los Angeles as the King of Weed, was denied a license to grow medical marijuana in Missouri, it alleged the state's process for granting marijuana licensing is arbitrary and capricious in that other applicants were awarded more points for the same and/or similar answers provided by Kings Garden.
The Cole County Circuit Court subsequently denied DHSS’ petition for a writ of prohibition, which would have prevented Kings Garden Midwest from accessing applications of competitors such as Harvest of Missouri, whose application was approved.
DHSS appealed and lost.
“The Missouri Supreme Court decision is a good thing, especially for businesses that are challenging their denial of getting a license based on what they perceive as arbitrary capricious scoring by the DHSS,” said attorney Paul Anderson of Humphrey, Farrington & McClain in Independence. “They should be entitled to see who were the other applicants that were out there. What did their scores look like and how were they scored? Plus, this information is all still protected. It's not being made publicly available. It's only provided to litigants in that specific claim.”
Although the ruling creates transparency for cannabis companies who were denied grow licenses, Anderson said the information that’s now required to be made available will only help certain cannabis businesses.
“There are no additional licenses that are being awarded at this time so it probably won't impact future licensees or future applicants that are seeking a license,” Anderson told the St. Louis Record. “Unless you appeal and you have an appeal pending, you wouldn't be able to use this decision. But the applicants that have appealed, that have claims pending, and that has been trying to obtain this discovery will probably use it.”