Ohio: Harvest of Ohio LLC (Dispensaries) Settlement With State Authorities

COLUMBUS – Harvest of Ohio LLC will “voluntarily” donate $500,000 to the state’s prescription drug reporting database to settle an ownership dispute with state regulators and open its three Ohio medical marijuana dispensaries. Reports the Cincinnati Enquirer The report goes on to say The penalty is among the highest assessed to a state-licensed marijuana business. The agreement means Harvest will be able to open dispensaries in Columbus, Beavercreek and Athens after passing state inspections. Affiliated business Harvest Grows LLC can also move ahead with its large-scale cultivation and processing facility in Ironton in Lawrence County after reaching an agreement Friday with the Ohio Department of Commerce. The businesses were accused last year of misrepresenting their ownership to qualify for business licenses set aside for minority-owned companies. Harvest Health and Recreation, an Arizona-based multi-state operator, laid claim to the Ohio businesses in investor disclosures last year. But on Friday, Harvest’s corporate website did not list any Ohio locations. A corporate spokesman said the company has a “licensing and lending agreement” with Harvest of Ohio and Harvest Grows. Minority ownership dispute On its marijuana license applications, Harvest of Ohio LLC claimed Ariane Kirkpatrick, an African-American businesswoman from Northeast Ohio, owned and controlled 51% of the company. The Ohio Board of Pharmacy claimed Harvest “committed fraud, misrepresentation, or deception in furnishing information” on its application. Harvest successfully blocked release of the board’s findings last year in response to a records request by The Enquirer. But the Ohio Department of Commerce released a summary of its investigation into the same issue for related…

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Source : CANNANNEW REPORT
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