Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Of 43 applicants, only five will receive licenses to grow and dispense medical marijuana in New York state.
The winners were initially expected to be announced in mid-July by the state Department of Health and now are expected to be named tomorrow, July 31.
Maybe the waiting got to be too much.
Nature abhors a vacuum, with no news from the Health Department and little public information about the applicants, no wonder that innuendo filled the void.
Over the past few weeks, various publications across the state have run stories about some of the applicants, portraying the quest for a license as a cutthroat business. There is money to be made -- the Washington Post reported that in 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million worth of marijuana.
And medical marijuana can reshape how we view treatment for chronic conditions.
The Albany Times-Union wrote about legal troubles of several companies and the New York Daily News ran a story in mid-July that included Josh Stanley's imbroglio in Colorado.
Several weeks ago, the Democrat and Chronicle was asked if we'd be interested in information about Stanley of Citiva Medical, which wanted to grow marijuana in Romulus, Seneca County, and open a dispensary in Gates.
Stanley's application was supported by the University of Rochester Medical Center and by Gates Town Supervisor Mark Assini.
After saying we'd look into the situation, the individual sent the D&C several documents, including one from the Department of Revenue of the State of Colorado that Stanley had violated Colorado law about dispensing medical marijuana, surrendered his license and paid a fine.
Stanley, who had run Nutritional Supplements in Colorado, had publicly said he liked New York's support for medical marijuana research and wanted to help build the science.
The source seemed to imply something else lay behind Stanley's interest.
The information deserved a look, but the verification did not turn up the salacious details the source implied.
We filed an open records request with Colorado to check on the authenticity of the document given to us. We then contacted Stanley's public relations people, who had contacted us when Stanley filed his application and sent us the letters of support from URMC and Assini.
Yes, Stanley gave up his license and paid a $5,000 fine, said Michael McKeon, a partner at Mercury, whose website identifies it as specializing in crisis communications, media relations and public affairs campaign management.
But ... .
The violations, which involved business records, were alleged to have occurred in late June 2013.
Stanley sold Nutritional Supplements on May 1, 2013 and subsequently left Colorado. McKeon said it takes time for all the paperwork to process and even though Stanley had nothing to do with the company, his name still was on the license.
The alternative to the settlement would have expensive and possibly lengthy court proceedings. "He made the decision to accept the settlement and move on," McKeon said.
Stanley's partner in Nutritional Supplements, Kevin Lamar, stayed on after the sale to manage the transition to the new owners. He wrote a letter to New York state Department of Health attesting that Stanley had nothing to do with the company at that point, and reiterated that point in a phone interview. McKeon said all this was disclosed in the application to the state.
McKeon and another spokesperson had been unable to arrange a phone interview with Stanley, who they said is one of the world's leading spokesman for the potential of medical marijuana.
Which led to this question: By having Stanley be so vocal, did his handlers make him a target.
"It seems maybe that's the case," McKeon said.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Fierce competition for medical marijuana licenses
Author: Patti Singer
Contact: Contact Us | Democrat and Chronicle Media Group - Rochester
Photo Credit: AFP-JIJI
Website: Democrat and Chronicle | Rochester news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Rochester, New York | democratandchronicle.com
The winners were initially expected to be announced in mid-July by the state Department of Health and now are expected to be named tomorrow, July 31.
Maybe the waiting got to be too much.
Nature abhors a vacuum, with no news from the Health Department and little public information about the applicants, no wonder that innuendo filled the void.
Over the past few weeks, various publications across the state have run stories about some of the applicants, portraying the quest for a license as a cutthroat business. There is money to be made -- the Washington Post reported that in 2014, Colorado retailers sold $386 million worth of marijuana.
And medical marijuana can reshape how we view treatment for chronic conditions.
The Albany Times-Union wrote about legal troubles of several companies and the New York Daily News ran a story in mid-July that included Josh Stanley's imbroglio in Colorado.
Several weeks ago, the Democrat and Chronicle was asked if we'd be interested in information about Stanley of Citiva Medical, which wanted to grow marijuana in Romulus, Seneca County, and open a dispensary in Gates.
Stanley's application was supported by the University of Rochester Medical Center and by Gates Town Supervisor Mark Assini.
After saying we'd look into the situation, the individual sent the D&C several documents, including one from the Department of Revenue of the State of Colorado that Stanley had violated Colorado law about dispensing medical marijuana, surrendered his license and paid a fine.
Stanley, who had run Nutritional Supplements in Colorado, had publicly said he liked New York's support for medical marijuana research and wanted to help build the science.
The source seemed to imply something else lay behind Stanley's interest.
The information deserved a look, but the verification did not turn up the salacious details the source implied.
We filed an open records request with Colorado to check on the authenticity of the document given to us. We then contacted Stanley's public relations people, who had contacted us when Stanley filed his application and sent us the letters of support from URMC and Assini.
Yes, Stanley gave up his license and paid a $5,000 fine, said Michael McKeon, a partner at Mercury, whose website identifies it as specializing in crisis communications, media relations and public affairs campaign management.
But ... .
The violations, which involved business records, were alleged to have occurred in late June 2013.
Stanley sold Nutritional Supplements on May 1, 2013 and subsequently left Colorado. McKeon said it takes time for all the paperwork to process and even though Stanley had nothing to do with the company, his name still was on the license.
The alternative to the settlement would have expensive and possibly lengthy court proceedings. "He made the decision to accept the settlement and move on," McKeon said.
Stanley's partner in Nutritional Supplements, Kevin Lamar, stayed on after the sale to manage the transition to the new owners. He wrote a letter to New York state Department of Health attesting that Stanley had nothing to do with the company at that point, and reiterated that point in a phone interview. McKeon said all this was disclosed in the application to the state.
McKeon and another spokesperson had been unable to arrange a phone interview with Stanley, who they said is one of the world's leading spokesman for the potential of medical marijuana.
Which led to this question: By having Stanley be so vocal, did his handlers make him a target.
"It seems maybe that's the case," McKeon said.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Fierce competition for medical marijuana licenses
Author: Patti Singer
Contact: Contact Us | Democrat and Chronicle Media Group - Rochester
Photo Credit: AFP-JIJI
Website: Democrat and Chronicle | Rochester news, community, entertainment, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Rochester, New York | democratandchronicle.com
