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Class Action Lawsuit Claims ‘Cartel’ Manipulates Missouri Cannabis Industry 

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Class Action Lawsuit Claims ‘Cartel’ Manipulates Missouri Cannabis Industry 

A class-action lawsuit filed in Missouri alleges that a “cartel” owns, controls or manages an unlawfully high portion of the state’s dispensary licenses and uses that market power to manipulate the market for its own benefit.

The lawsuit by licensed cannabis growers CPC of Missouri-Smithville, LLC and GF Saint Mary LLC alleges that Good Day Farm and a network of companies and investors conspired to invest in limited liability companies that then obtained additional cannabis industry licenses that are actually owned, managed or controlled by Good Day Farm.

Missouri there is a 10% licensing cap written into the adult-use cannabis law, but plaintiffs allege the so-called cartel operates under five different brand names and operates 61 dispensaries in total. The lawsuit alleges that Good Day Farms has 21 distribution licenses and is working with CODES, which operates 20 dispensaries; Greenlight, which operates 10 dispensaries; Fresh Karma, which operates six dispensaries; and 3Fifteen Primo, which operates four dispensaries.

The lawsuit alleges that the companies buy cannabis from unrelated firms at artificially low prices, but their stock from companies they are affiliated with and shut down independently manufactured products from their dispensaries unless the companies agree to their demands.

In a statement, Bob Hoffman, one of the lead lawyers for the lawsuit, said the companies’ actions are “suppressing competition in the wholesale cannabis market and enriching themselves with illegal profits through an unconstitutional and clandestine business conspiracy.”

“Missouri’s growers and producers have suffered under this scheme for too long – many of them know something is wrong, but don’t understand the extent of the Cartel’s market manipulation,” Hoffman said in a press release. “We filed this lawsuit to restore the fair and competitive marketplace that Missourians voted for when they legalized recreational cannabis in 2022.”

The lawsuit names 50 businesses and individuals as accomplices.

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Louisiana Gov. Signs Bill Enhancing Penalties for Smoking Cannabis on College Campuses

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3 days ago

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June 8, 2026

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Louisiana Gov. Signs Bill Enhancing Penalties for Smoking Cannabis on College Campuses

Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has signed one bill that would imprison individuals for smoking cannabis within 2,000 feet of high school and college campuses. In a statement posted on X Last week, Landry said he was “tired of going…to college and high school campuses and being inundated with the smell of marijuana.”

“And I’m tired of seeing drugs spilling onto our high school and college campuses, hurting students. These drugs take away from the family-friendly environments that colleges are supposed to be — especially on game day.” – Landry in a statement filed for X

The law creates strict penalties for smoking or vaping on or within 2,000 feet of a school property or school bus, allowing prison sentences of up to one and a half times the longest authorized term, with sentences ineligible for parole, probation or suspension. The law also allows those convicted of cannabis-only offenses to serve up to a year in jail, with or without hard labor, and pay a $1,000 fine.

In the statement, Landry said the bill “takes a massive step” in protecting children. The draft law enters into force on August 1.

TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news writer and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media at a local university.

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Michigan’s Wholesale Cannabis Tax Generating Far Less Revenue Than Predicted

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4 days ago

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June 7, 2026

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Michigan’s Wholesale Cannabis Tax Generating Far Less Revenue Than Predicted

The 24% wholesale tax on cannabis, passed last year by Michigan lawmakers, generated far less revenue in its first quarter than anticipated. The Detroit News reports.

Lawmakers drafted legislation to fund road construction and repairs in the state, and the nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency estimated the 24% wholesale tax would generate about $420 million a year. The state received less than $34 million in the first few months of the new tax, less than a third of quarterly expectations.

Michigan Cannabis Industry Association (MICIA) argued last year that the wholesale tax was unconstitutionally messing with the cannabis framework approved by voters, but the courts refused to block the tax from taking effect on January 1.

“Our elected leaders made the cannabis industry a sacrificial lamb to have the illusion of a road funding fix,” MICIA executive director Robin Schneider said in the report.

“In reality, the only thing they’ve accomplished is the destruction of a strong industry that served as an economic driver for this state. The result is closing businesses, losing jobs, and stripping local governments of tax revenue.” – Schneider, via The Detroit News

The trade group presented a the second lawsuit challenging the wholesale tax on cannabis in March.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Graham is the editor-in-chief of Ganjapreneur. He has been writing about the legalization landscape since 2012 and has contributed to Ganjapreneur since our official launch in…

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O’ahu Business Sues Hawaii Over State Hemp Laws

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6 days ago

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June 5, 2026

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O’ahu Business Sues Hawaii Over State Hemp Laws

An O’ahu, Hawaii business is suing the state over hemp laws that went into effect earlier this year, Aloha State Daily reports. The federal lawsuit claims the new rules have made it illegal for Lance Alyas, founder of O’ahu Dispensary and Provisions, LLC, to sell about 80% of the products that were previously allowed.

The suit claims the regulations place an undue burden on overseas commerce and that the state’s efforts to seize or destroy the property violate due process.

In 2020, state lawmakers passed a bill to align its hemp laws with those codified in the 2018 federal Farm Bill, which allowed hemp products with 0.3% delta-9 THC; however, in 2021, the state Department of Health (DOH) passed regulations defining hemp based on total THC concentration, rather than the 0.3% delta-9 threshold. In the lawsuit, Alyas claims the deviations from federal law criminalize products that would be legal under federal standards.

Last year, Hawaii lawmakers passed a bill that would require all hemp distributors to register with the DOH’s Office of Medical Cannabis Control and Regulation starting in 2026. Under the law, businesses are required to register with the agency to sell any hemp products, and registered sellers who sell products that don’t meet their state testing standards can be fined up to $00 per 1 are suspended and their products destroyed by law enforcement.

Alyas claims that since the company was founded in 2023, it has been the target of “sting operations” by law enforcement, even though all of the products it sells meet the federal definition of hemp.

State Attorney General Anne Lopez and DOH Director Kenneth Fink have asked to dismiss the case, arguing that Alyas has no credible claim that he has been harmed by laws or regulations.

Last year, federal lawmakers passed a bill that will effectively ban most hemp products now available due to the 2018 farm bill. The new federal rules exclude products that include THC “synthesized or produced outside” of the cannabis plant with more than 0.3% THC and “any hemp-derived intermediate cannabinoid product that is marketed or sold as an end product or directly to an end consumer for personal or household use.” from the federal definition of hemp. These rules take effect on November 12.

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