Nevada’s new Cannabis Compliance Board already hard at work, revokes six licenses

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The new board was just launched and held its first meeting this past Tuesday

With the recent cannabis reform signed by Nevada’s Governor Steve Sisolak, the newly-created Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board (CCB) met for the first time on July 21. This represents a new era for the cannabis industry in the Silver State, and, as part of the first tasks that the board tackled, at least six of CWNevada’s 14 business licenses will be revoked due to a new disciplinary settlement signed by the board. CWNevada is the owner of the Canopi Cannabis Dispensaries and, on top of losing the license, the punishment includes a steep fine.

There were multiple lawsuits that accused CWNevada of having unfair business practices like withholding payment from its employees, breaking contracts with business partners and destroying evidence in ongoing civil cases. The monetary penalties set by the board include a $1.25-million fine and a $1.5-million bill for back taxes.

An investigation into the activities by company began in 2018, leading to this week’s decisions by the CCB. CWNevada will keep only eight licenses in the state and the proceedings from the sales from these dispensaries will be used to favor the employees affected for unpaid wages. In addition, company owner Brian Padgett will be barred from getting any cash from the sales.

“These sums are extremely important to Nevada and its citizens given the state’s budget deficits and high unemployment rates,” wrote court-appointed receiver Dotan Melech in a letter to the CCB. There were several letters read during the first part of the meeting and several officials and former employees attended to support the disciplinary action against the company.