March 12--A would-be medical marijuana grower has filed suit against Illinois regulators and a competitor, charging that the state failed to follow its own rules in awarding a license to grow the drug.
This is at least the third such lawsuit challenging the licensing process for medical marijuana in Illinois.
White Oak Growers LLC filed the new suit against Cresco Labs LLC and Philip Nelson, acting director of the Illinois Department of Agriculture, which last month awarded Cresco three licenses to grow marijuana. White Oak was seeking to open a cultivation center in rural Will County near Manhattan, but it instead went to Cresco for a grow warehouse in Joliet.
The lawsuit mirrors another that was filed last week by a different marijuana cultivation applicant, PM Rx LLC, which made similar claims involving the state and Cresco over a license in the Kankakee area. That suit resulted in a Cook County judge issuing a temporary order preventing the state from giving Cresco the license while the issue is litigated. Both suits were filed by the same attorney, John Rooks.
Last month, Shiloh Agronomics filed suit against Shelby County Community Services Inc., stating it should not have gotten the cultivation license near Effingham because it is a not-for-profit corporation.
Like the PM Rx suit, the new suit by White Oak cites Gov. Bruce Rauner's general counsel, Jason Barclay, who wrote previously that because of problems with the scoring of the applications by former Gov. Pat Quinn's administration, there was a "significant likelihood" that the Quinn evaluations would expose the state to costly lawsuits and would not be upheld in court.
The suit again quotes a statement on the issue from Rauner's office: "We believe the steps we took to fix the errors in the Quinn selection process reduce, but cannot entirely eliminate, the risk of litigation. We will fully participate in any judicial review of the selection process and comply with any orders issued by a court as it relates to this particular applicant or any other applicant that seeks judicial review."
The suit also notes that Cresco has made efforts to raise investment funds since receiving its licenses, raising questions about whether it had the necessary funds, and meaning that potential investors have not had criminal background checks, as required by law.
Cresco officials previously said they had the money to proceed, but were following common business practice in seeking additional investors, who would be vetted by the state.
State officials declined comment, but the Attorney General's office is fighting the PM Rx suit, maintaining the selection process was fair and legal. Cresco officials did not immediately comment, but in response to the previous suit issued the following statement:
"The delays in the process ultimately hurt the Illinois patients who are waiting for this medical treatment. It is disappointing that they have to suffer while the legal maneuvering runs its course. Cresco Labs put forward the three best applications in the State, and we stand by our applications."
rmccoppin@tribpub.com
