A politically connected medical marijuana grower has suspended its effort to sell itself for $20 million after the Wolf administration threatened to revoke its cultivation permit.
The Inquirer first reported Oct. 3 that Franklin Labs LLC—chaired by Gov. Wolf’s former adviser John Hanger—was circulating a confidential prospectus soliciting bids for the company, its permit and its 47,000-foot grow house in Reading, possibly violating state law.
In a sternly worded warning letter dated Oct. 13, John Collins, director of the state Office of Medical Marijuana, called the offer “disturbing … especially in light of the fact that Franklin Labs is not yet operational as a grower/processor facility.”
On Monday, the company took the offer off the table and drew a distinction, saying it had never offered to sell its cannabis permit. Instead, it explained, it had offered to sell 100 percent of the stock in Franklin Labs, which coincidentally happens to include the permit as an asset.
In a statement, Franklin Labs CEO John Pohlhaus said, “We have suspended any further discussion of the sale of stock in Franklin Labs and will work cooperatively with the Department [of Health] to resolve any outstanding issues in the matter.”
Top image: © Ivaylo Sarayski | Dreamstime.com
