A judge in Madison County, west of Columbus, ordered that the section of Ohio medical marijuana law that requires 15% of licensed companies in the program be owned by members of “economically disadvantaged groups,” is unconstitutional.
It is the second time an Ohio judge has tossed that section of marijuana law.
The Board of Pharmacy argued that the economically disadvantaged groups section of the law was created as a way the state could remedy past and present racial discrimination.
However, Costello ruled that the board’s arguments in favor of quotas apply to government contracts with minority-owned businesses and not businesses that are licensees. The board also didn’t provide statistical evidence that there was racial discrimination in the medical marijuana industry in Ohio, he wrote.
Read more at cleveland.com