3 lawsuits against pot panel dismissed

Court ruling cites immunity of state

A Pulaski County circuit judge in January dismissed three lawsuits brought against the state by three medical marijuana businesses that applied for the state’s first licenses to sell and grow the drug, according to a spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

The suits, which were sealed after being filed, claimed that the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission unfairly rejected the applicants’ proposals, according to a copy of one of the complaints that was obtained by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce dismissed the suits with prejudice on Jan. 29, said Nicole Waugh, a Rutledge spokesman, in an email Friday. Dismissed with prejudice means the suits can’t be refiled.

The case filings are sealed, but the plaintiffs’ attorney, Alex Gray, in a phone interview Friday evening said that Pierce cited an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling last month that said the state is immune from being sued in its own courts.

Gray said the plaintiffs had already exhausted all administrative remedies before filing the lawsuit, and Pierce had ruled that the plaintiffs had standing to bring their complaint in circuit court before the state Supreme Court’s decision.

It’s also unknown what businesses filed the lawsuits, which sought a temporary restraining order forcing the commission to consider the proposals. The applicants’ names were left out of the complaints to protect their anonymity.

A spokesman for the state Department of Finance and Administration, which provides administrative support to the Medical Marijuana Commission, said no applications will be released by the agency until after it finishes its evaluations.

The commission is responsible for scoring 322 applications for medical cannabis cultivators and distributors. Near the end of this month, commissioners expect to announce the five winning bids for growing centers and announce successful dispensary applicants later this year.