Why hasn’t this medical weed dispensary opened? Inside the drama and disputes keeping it closed.

EDITOR’S NOTE: NJ cannabis insider is hosting a full-day conference and networking event with many of the state’s leaders on September 15 at the Carteret Performing Arts Center. Early bird tickets Now on offer.

The medical marijuana storefront was scheduled to open last year, the second of two dueling medical pharmacies in Atlantic City.

But MPX NJ’s “Be” didn’t open its doors off the boardwalk as planned.

The company’s relationship with its investor iAnthus has deteriorated and some former MPX NJ executives have left. The two companies have argued over who has the rights to expand the property and are now fighting for control of the license. It is one of only 12 that the state has awarded.

As the property withers away, New Jersey’s 113,000 medical marijuana patients struggle to find affordable and accessible cannabis. Many have reported long lines and commutes only to encounter product shortages.

Former MPX owner and iAnthus employee Julie Winter claims that iAnthus ousted the diverse leadership of MPX and also misled state officials about progress in opening, according to correspondence with the State Department of Health and Public Health received from NJ Advance Media emerges from the Chair of the Cannabis Regulatory Commission.

MPX NJ won a coveted vertically integrated license in 2018 – which enables it to grow, process, and dispense marijuana. However, it is one of only two companies from this licensing round that have not yet opened a pharmacy.

It planned to grow cannabis in Pleasantville and dispense it near the boardwalk, and had a local, women-run team led by Beth Stavola, Winter’s sister.

But Winter claims in the letter that it was not on the right track.

“I know we intended to deliver whatever we suggested in our application and have been prevented and controlled by iAnthus,” she wrote in November in a letter to Jeff Brown, then head of the Cannabis Commission of Medical Health Department’s Marijuana Program.

iAnthus and MPX NJ have several entanglements. Stavola worked for iAnthus once but has resigned. She remains CEO and majority owner of MPX NJ. The companies also entered into a master service agreement that would, over time, transfer ownership of MPX NJ to iAnthus.

The license holder has since claimed iAnthus tried to hijack its operations after investing $ 10 million. In a lawsuit late last year, MPX NJ accused iAnthus of attempting to negotiate business with state and local officials and carrying out unauthorized construction at the grow facility.

Winter says in her letter she moved from MPX to an iAnthus position in late 2019 after being pressured to give up her ownership role. She claims the same thing happened to another MPX member, Shelby Brown. The various management positions brought in MPX points in the licensing round, and iAnthus then took advantage of this by taking control, argues Winter.

Shelby Brown said he had been transferred from a national to a state position and acknowledged several issues raised in Winter’s letter. Brown, an African American disabled veteran, previously served as an investigator for the Maryland Medical Cannabis Commission.

“The fact that this company is coming in and using white men with no experience makes no sense,” he said. “I would like to see the real essence of this application go through: minority owned, led by women. It’s very effective because these are the people who are going to do the right thing for the state and the patients. “

Winter also called the plans submitted to the health department “smoke and mirrors” and accused the company of prioritizing money for a pharmacy in Arizona over its obligation to patients in New Jersey.

Stavola did not respond to the allegations.

“Unfortunately, I am silent on the matter due to an agreement I had to sign with iAnthus,” she said in an email statement.

iAnthus rejects Winters’ allegations. Randy Maslow, the president and interim CEO, called them “imprecise, deliberately wrong and frankly defamatory” in a statement.

“Patients across the state have seen far too many roadblocks denying access to this life-changing and therapeutic herb,” ​​said Maslow. “It’s a shame that this outlandish and financially motivated letter could just be another barrier to opening medical cannabis facilities in Atlantic City and across the state.”

iAnthus said in a statement that 72% of leadership positions across the company are held by women, and three of the five proposed managers on the New Jersey team are women.

It also said it plans to open the completed pharmacy in Atlantic City once it completes the acquisition of MPX NJ and takes control of the license after government approval. It has two more pharmacies planned for Gloucester Township and Pennsauken.

iAnthus defended its acquisition of MPX NJ, arguing that MPX members had signed agreements granting it ownership of MPX in exchange for capital and expertise.

MPX NJ ran into trouble from the start. Despite its proximity to a Compassionate Care Foundation pharmacy, the health department has granted him a license that led to a lawsuit. Other rejected license applicants criticized the overall ranking of the six winners also filed a lawsuit.

The company prevailed through both and stuck to its license.

Winter’s complaints don’t seem to bother the cannabis commission.

In a July 9 letter, Commission Chair Dianna Houenou said the panel “will not consider matters outside of its jurisdiction”, citing the issues “internal disputes between MPX and iAnthus employees and / or – Representative “.

Commission spokeswoman Toni-Anne Blake declined to comment on the story but confirmed that MPX NJ still holds the license.

The Cannabis Commission is currently developing rules and regulations for the legal cannabis market. Many are calling for the panel to create avenues for multiple ownership in an industry largely controlled by wealthy white men.

There is hope among ex-MPX members that clarifying the underlying issues will stop the transfer and get the pharmacy to open.

“We’re just trying to get the agency, the DOH and the CRC to do what I think their job is to do: get medical marijuana to patients who need it now,” Smith said in a phone interview. “And bring legal marijuana to the people who voted overwhelmingly in favor. Do it according to the principles you promised: locally owned companies, represented by minorities. “

A version of this story first appeared in NJ cannabis insider. This version has been updated with a comment from iAnthus.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj.