R.I. JUDGE BLOCKS ACREAGE DISPENSARY ACQUISITION
VINCENT BRANCIFORTI
A Rhode Island judge has at least temporarily blocked multi-state operator (MSO) Acreage Holdings from buying a dispensary in the state. The decision follows a demand for arbitration filed against the MSO by New England operator CanWell.
CanWell alleges Acreage broke a non-compete contract provision CanWell made with a Maine company now mostly owned by Acreage. The suit alleges the blocked acquisition would give Acreage a stake in more than one Rhode Island MED dispensary, which is prohibited by state law.
Providence Journal
The case is “one of several legal moves or probes in different states which allege, in short, that either Acreage or one of its (near-)subsidiaries have failed to honor rules or pre-existing agreements,” Janet Burns writes in Forbes.
- CanWell CEO Terence Fracassa was a former business partner of Murphy’s at a cannabis investing firm. Fracassa alleges he was pushed out.
- Acreage also faces challenges to its business structure in Ohio and Massachusetts.
- An Acreage spokesperson told Forbes the company couldn’t comment on ongoing litigation.
- Check out WeedWeek’s interview with Acreage CEO Kevin Murphy and my take on whether Acreage director and former Speaker of the House John Boehner(R) is good for cannabis.
