Judge orders Massachusetts marijuana licenses restored

Editor's Note: This is an unfortunate example of some unanticipated hurdles hopeful dispensary owners can face during the application process, and why surplus funding (for legal representation in this case, and for other unexpected costs in others) and legal counsel is important. For some related information, you might read, "Applying for a Marijuana Business License? 10 Things to Know."

A judge has ordered state regulators to allow a company previously headed by former congressman William Delahunt to move forward with plans to open medical marijuana dispensaries in Mashpee and Plymouth, ruling it was improperly denied licenses last year.

In a 22-page ruling Monday, a Suffolk Superior Court judge found that the Department of Public Health failed to follow its own regulations in June when it rejected a bid by Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts to open three dispensaries, after initially supporting it.

The denial came five months after the company scored the highest among 100 applicants and was among 20 selected to move on to the inspection phase. It also paid a $50,000 registration fee for each of its three proposed dispensaries.

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