Pennsylvania medical cannabis grower drops suit but not the battle

A medical marijuana company that failed to win a Pennsylvania cultivation license has dropped a lawsuit against the state’s health department demanding the agency revoke a license awarded to another grower.

Scranton-based BrightStar Biomedics charged in a lawsuit filed last month that Pennsylvania Medical Solutions didn’t disclose on its application that it was under criminal investigation, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

BrightStar officials didn’t say why they dropped the lawsuit. But a spokesman said the company intends to find out through a state appeals process why Pennsylvania Medical won a license over Brightstar, according to the newspaper.

In the lawsuit, BrightStar asked state regulators to rescind an MMJ license awarded to Pennsylvania Medical because its parent company, Vireo Health, is the subject of a criminal investigation in Minnesota.

Such a revelation could have damaged or killed Pennsylvania Medical’s application. It also could’ve increased the chances for BrightStar, which fell just three points short of landing one of the 12 initial grow licenses, the newspaper reported.

“BrightStar continues to believe strongly in the merits of its position and looks forward to getting to the truth of what happened here,” spokesman Dan Fee told The Inquirer.