Maryland Marijuana Commission Head Defends Review Process In Light Of Lawsuit Against Applicant
The commission did not know one applicant is being sued for discrimination
The director in charge of overseeing the state’s system of background checks for potential medical marijuana business owners says reviews are working as they should, despite the fact the commission did not know one applicant is being sued for discrimination.
Patrick Jameson, executive director of the state’s Medical Cannabis Commission, said a federal lawsuit against one of the owners of a medical marijuana dispensary with preliminary approval would’ve been revealed through the commission’s own review process.
The controversy arose when David Podrog, part owner of Alternative Advanced Therapies which has preliminary approval to set up shop in Annapolis as a dispensary, was sued in federal court for alleged discrimination of Hispanic employees at his previous car wash business.
Despite the fact Podrog was being investigated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission as early as 2014 on claims he’d treated Hispanic employees as personal servants at the former Maritime Car Wash near Annapolis, Jameson said the claims would’ve been reviewed as part of the state’s two-part review system.
“That’s the part of the investigation we’re in now with this company,” Jameson said.
The commission’s first application, which was due in November 2015, did not require Podrog to disclose the EEOC’s investigation.
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