Maryland medical marijuana regulators took steps Monday to deny a license to one of the 15 companies picked to grow the drug, saying there was a "reasonable likelihood" the firm would not properly safeguard the medicine.
In voting to tell MaryMed LLC that it would not receive a final license, the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission cited concerns about MaryMed LLC's former parent company Vireo Health, which operates medical marijuana businesses in two other states. The commission also faulted MaryMed for not cooperating with Maryland investigators.
The concerns stem from the February indictment of two former Vireo executives, who face felony charges in Minnesota for allegedly smuggling a half-million dollars worth of cannabis oil across state lines in December 2015.
Maryland regulators said MaryMed mentioned those two executives by name in its November 2015 application to grow the drug here, and the firm "emphasized that its operations in Minnesota and New York, and the experience gained thereby, demonstrated its ability to successfully operate medical cannabis operations in Maryland."
