According to a recent report in the NJCannabis Insider (subscription required) applicants from the 2019 Request for Applications for medical cannabis licensing denied due to corruption of their online applications continue to await their day in court.
Josh Bauchner, an attorney with Ansell Grimm & Aaron PC representing several clients who were disqualified from the RFA, told NJCannabis Insider the state made it clear it had no intention of settling the case despite concerns from the presiding judge that further delays may cause serious harm to medical cannabis patients.
Bauchner’s pursuing redress for his clients due to data corruption of the PDF version of their applications based on the belief that the corruption was due to problems with the Department of Health’s online submission portal or the PDF files obtained from the DOH.
He noted that his clients have been placed at a significant disadvantage in the marketplace, as the existing and subsequently successful licenses have been able to move forward developing their business while those denied will still require significant time to become operational.
“This could all be fixed with a pen stroke,” Bauchner told NJCannabis Insider. “Someone in leadership in Trenton, all they have to do is say, ‘Permit people to resubmit their applications and restart scoring.’ You could probably award these licenses in 30 days.”
