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Nine of the 48 marijuana social equity licenses issued by Missouri regulators last fall have been revoked because the applicants were deemed ineligible.
Eight of the revoked licenses were issued to out-of-state operators and one was a wholesale facility, nonprofit news outlet Missouri Independent reported, citing the state’s Division of Cannabis Regulation.
Regulators warned last December that 11 winners of social equity licenses might have been ineligible.
One of the companies that lost its license Wednesday, Frankenstein Enemy in Columbia, worked with Michigan-based Canna Zoned MLS in obtaining its permit.
Canna Zoned allegedly submitted 104 applications and won two dispensary licenses in Missouri’s lottery for social equity permits.
Frankenstein Enemy, in a statement to the Independent, called the revocation “drastic and unjustified.”
“We have not been provided with specific reasons or justifications for the revocation, leaving us in a position where we must take appropriate action,” Frankenstein Enemy said.
“The lack of transparency and the apparent predisposition to revoke our license prior to affording us a fair hearing not only impacts our license but also sets a concerning precedent for the microbusiness program and its intended beneficiaries as a whole.”
Arizona-based Cannabis Business Advisors was also connected to 400 dispensary applications in Missouri, according to the Independent.
Six of those applications were granted licenses but saw them revoked on Wednesday.
The Division of Cannabis Regulation said it found that applicants, or the “purported majority owners,” connected to the applications weren’t familiar with the agreements or operations tied to the license.
“While owning and operating a license may include contracting for management services or consulting services, the lack of knowledge, control, agency or decision-making demonstrated by the individuals whose information was used to meet eligibility does not meet even the most generous interpretation of owning and operating a business,” Amy Moore, director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, said in a statement.
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