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BOSTON (AP) — A former Massachusetts congressman said he is stepping down as president of a medical marijuana company that sued the state after its dispensary application was rejected.
Ex-U.S. Rep. William Delahunt told a meeting of The Patriot Ledger's editorial board on Monday that he resigned from Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, the nonprofit that wanted to open dispensaries in Plymouth, Taunton and Mashpee.
Delahunt said the primary reason he is leaving the nonprofit is to spend more time helping another company that aims to establish more addiction treatment services. He did not give the name of the company. He said he likely would have resigned even if Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts had been granted licenses.
Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts initially won approval in January to open three dispensaries, but state regulators notified the company in June that it was denied licenses. State officials said Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts did not comply with nonprofit regulations because it planned to divert excessive revenues to a management company.
In its lawsuit filed last month, Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts argued that the regulators broke their own rules and reacted unreasonably to negative publicity when they reversed themselves. The lawsuit alleges the reversal was capricious and arbitrary because it was based on publicity considerations rather than the merits of the company's applications.
A company official says the lawsuit will go on.
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Information from: The (Quincy, Mass.) Patriot Ledger, http://www.patriotledger.com
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