An independent review of a much-delayed, controversy-riddled process to award another round of medical cannabis licenses in Maryland did not find any foul play at work in the application review process, state cannabis regulators announced Thursday.
The team of investigators, led by former Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg Bernstein and other attorneys at downtown law firm Zuckerman Spaeder LLP, “found no evidence of bias or undue influence in the 2019 license application review process,” they wrote in a report published by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission.
The review did identify some conflicts of interest with affiliations between license applicants and employees of Morgan State University, which performed the initial blind review of applications for the 10 new processor and four new grower licenses in 2019.
