BALTIMORE — A judge has ruled that a lawsuit that could disrupt Maryland’s fledgling medical marijuana industry can go to trial.
The Baltimore Sun reports that Circuit Judge Barry Williams ruled Wednesday that a trial should determine whether state regulators acted improperly when they chose certain companies to award lucrative licenses to grow the drug.
State lawyers had asked the judge to dismiss the case.
At issue are two of the state’s medical marijuana licenses awarded to companies that did not rank among the top 15 applicants.
Regulators said they awarded the licenses to two lower-ranked firms to broaden the geographic diversity of the growers, as required by state law.
The two higher-ranking firms displaced by that action sued the state.
The judge has not set a trial date.
