A South Dakota medical cannabis company is suing the state Department of Health (DOH) for overreach, trying to enforce rules that haven’t been made public, and giving out improper violations that have cost the company over $1 million in damages. 605 Cannabis’s case started with an inspection of their facility in January, which the company says was done wrongly and while the facility was partially closed because of a snowstorm.
According to a report by Ganjapreneur, in the complaint, 605 says that DOH inspections are required by law to happen during normal business hours and that the health department’s inspection happened when 605 was “not fully operational, not open during its normal business hours, and key staff members were not there.”
605 says that samples of cannabis and products were taken during the inspection and that the DOH later sent out a report with 19 alleged violations. The report says that on February 8, the health department sent out an emergency order citing nine serious violations from the inspection and suspending 605’s licenses to make and grow marijuana.
In the complaint, 605 lists the nine DOH violations and says that the agency made mistakes in its evaluation and subsequent enforcement actions, and that small problems, like a blind spot on a camera, have been fixed. The company said it has tried to come to an agreement with the DOH but hasn’t been able to do so.
605 says that the suspension of its licenses cost it $1.3 million in lost revenue and that its rights have been violated because the DOH didn’t follow or go around the right way to make rules.
