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Marijuana multistate operator Acreage Holdings continues to prevail in its legal efforts to thwart Maine and, now, its largest city from favoring homegrown businesses in the state’s impending adult-use market.
A federal judge ruled Friday that Portland can’t enforce scoring criteria that give licensing preference to locally owned marijuana businesses, Law360 reported.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen granted a request for a preliminary injunction against the city filed by NPG, which does business as Wellness Connection, Maine’s largest medical cannabis operator.
Wellness Connection is owned by High Street Capital Partners, a subsidiary of New York-based Acreage.
Earlier this year, Wellness Connection challenged the state’s residency requirement, and Maine backed down, saying it was unlikely to prevail on a constitutional challenge.
Portland, which plans to issue 20 retail marijuana licenses, developed a scoring system that would have awarded:
- Five of 34 points to applicants majority-owned by a Maine resident for at least five years.
- Four points to applicants who previously held non-marijuana-related business licenses in the state.
In her ruling, the judge indicated that Portland would have a difficult time legally justifying its licensing scheme.
Portland officials had countered that regardless of how the scoring came out, Wellness would still be in control of a lucrative medical marijuana license in the city.
Maine regulators recently set Oct. 9 as the date adult-use sales would begin in the state, nearly four years after residents voted to legalize recreational cannabis.
Marijuana Business Daily projects the market will reach $275 million to $325 million a year in sales by 2024.
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