An Arkansas Circuit Court judge on June 20 denied dispensary owner Dragan Vicentic’s motion to stay the revocation of his license for Green Springs Medical.
The result is that the Hot Springs, Ark., dispensary will remain closed following the Arkansas Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board’s decision to uphold the ABC director’s revocation of the dispensary license for more than 50 violations and warnings.
“Green Springs Medical, LLC has shown a complete disregard for the rules and regulations of the Department of Health as well as continuous noncompliance with the ABC Commission,” said Judge Kara A. Petro for the Garland County Circuit Court in her order.
“The public has an interest in quality assurance. This court cannot issue a stay when the appellant continues to willfully sell expired products and the wrong products to the public with total disregard for the regulations,” she concluded.
ABC Director Christy Bjornson revoked Green Springs Medical’s license on May 2 alleging numerous violations, the most recent was for selling 1,800 expired products. The store was allowed to remain open until the ABC Board upheld the decision on June 12.
Following the board hearing, Vicentic immediately filed an appeal in state court. Vicentic told CRB Monitor Friday that he “obviously” disagrees with the judge’s ruling on the TRO and will ask for a fast-track date to hear the full case.
“I think when she sees the facts in the transcript, she’ll see the ABC court is one-sided. You can’t get a fair shake,” he said.
For example, he said the products in question hadn’t really expired. It’s just that the ABC requires retesting after a one-year period.
But Judge Petro already said in her ruling, “The appellant has not shown a strong or substantial likelihood or probability of success on the merits.”
She said Vicentic provided no evidence to rebut the ABC’s allegations.
“The record of sales are Green Springs Medical, LLC’s records that prove that the violations occurred. The evidence provided to the court is that the appellant has willfully committed violations and has continued to do so despite sanctions,” she stated.
License transfer request pending
Meanwhile, Vicentic has applied to the Medical Marijuana Commission (MMC) for a temporary permit and to transfer full ownership of his license to Carla McCord, said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the Department of Finance and Administration, which oversees both the MMC, the licensing authority, and the ABC, which enforces regulations. McCord owns a portion of Hot Springs-based cultivator Leafology.
Hardin said in an email that MMC rules allow an individual to have ownership in one dispensary and one cultivator.
On June 13, the MMC decided to not take immediate action on the license request because of the TRO motion, which was pending at the time. “The lawyer for the MMC advised there is not a permit to sell as it is not in existence after the revocation,” Hardin said in the email.
Green Springs Medical was the second dispensary to receive a license in Arkansas and had been among the top 10 medical cannabis retailers based on pounds sold earlier this year. With Green Springs closed, there are 37 dispensaries operating in the state, Hardin said.
Since the first dispensary opened in 2019, patients have spent more than $1 billion on medical marijuana in Arkansas. More than 102,000 Arkansans hold a patient card.
