Lawsuit Against Maryland Cannabis Commission Dropped Days After Filing

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] lawsuit fighting against an expansion of approved cannabis licenses in the state of Maryland was pulled just a few days after it was filed.

Curio Wellness filed a lawsuit last Monday in the Baltimore County Circuit Court that alleged that the addition of four awarded cannabis licenses went against Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission’s regulations. It argued the new competing companies put the company’s investment in its business at risk.

Customers and Maryland residents voiced opinions on social media and other public venues. Critics who stated the lawsuit undermined a yearlong effort to create diversity in the state’s cannabis industry staged an “Occupy Curio” event in the company’s store in Timonium.

The backlash from the lawsuit caused the company to withdraw the lawsuit on Friday.

“I have seen the concerns from our customers on social media about racial insensitivity. I have seen comments and accusations that in no way reflect the values of this company and are not an accurate depiction of the hardworking people of all races and ethnicities I work with every day,” said CEO and president Michael Bronfein in a statement. “These are concerns to which I cannot, and will not, turn a blind eye. What rattles me the most is I know that’s not who we are.”

In his statement, Bronfein pointed out that 36 percent of Curio employees were female and 38 percent African American, and that he and his wife had established University of Baltimore scholarships for African American students.

“Make no mistake, I stand by the merits of the lawsuit and the State’s failed commitment to uphold the regulatory promises it made to the people who invested in every Maryland medical cannabis cultivator, including Curio. We sought to ensure that any expansion was conducted in accordance with demand, which is exactly what we were promised by the law when we agreed to invest in this important public private health program,” Bronfien said.