Convicted Felon Hired to Review and Score Cultivation Applications in Ohio
Ohio residents are calling for the suspension of Trevor C. Bozeman, 33, who was hired as one of three individuals to review and score applications for Level 1 licenses to cultivate medical cannabis, based on his criminal past.
Bozeman was convicted in 2005 of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance in Middleburg, Pennsylvania. He served three years probation for the incident and paid $2,131 in fines and costs. Bozeman then went on to form iCann Consulting.
The outrage stems from the fact that medical cannabis cultivators must undergo criminal background checks, while the license scorers aren’t held to the same criteria.
CannAscend Ohio is one of 97 applicants that were denied a Level 1 cultivator license last week, and shortly after, the company released Bozeman’s criminal background on December 5.
“The State of Ohio has a lot of explaining to do: After giving vendors 10 days to reply to an RFP for the Medical Marijuana Control Program, they hired a convicted drug dealer for $150,000 to score applications for the Ohio Medical Marijuana industry, ” Jimmy Gould, CannAscend’s chairman and CEO stated. Gould is the founder of ResponsibleOhio which led the effort to promote Issue 3 which failed in 2015.
On Wednesday, Ohio Auditor Dave Yost called for Bozeman’s suspension, according to The Columbus Dispatch. “This is an epic failure. I am outraged,” Yost said, calling for an independent investigation.
The Ohio Department of Commerce oversees the Medical Marijuana Control Program, the governing body that hired Bozeman in the first place. A department spokesman stated that the process was comprehensive and fair. Twelve companies were awarded Level 1 cultivation licenses to grow up to 25,000 square feet of medical cannabis.
CannAscend is planning to file a lawsuit to contest the results. Medical cannabis is expected to be available for sale in Ohio in about a year.
