State moving forward with revoking River Valley Cultivation license, letter states November 8, 2022 By Griffin Coop The state notified Judge Herb Wright in a letter Monday that it is moving forward with revoking the cultivation license of River Valley Relief Cultivation after the judge ruled last week that a state commission had issued the license in error. The letter from Senior Assistant Attorney General Kate Donoven, who represented the state agency defendants in the case, said “This letter is to advise the Court that the defendants are taking the necessary steps to revoke the cultivation license at issue in the above captioned case in compliance with the Court’s order dated November 3, 2022.” The letter seems to be an indication that the state will not appeal Wright’s ruling in which the judge found the state Medical Marijuana Commission should not have awarded a cultivation license to Storm Nolan and River Valley Relief Cultivation in 2020. In his ruling last week, Wright stopped short of revoking River Valley’s license, saying that did not fall within his authority but did say that the state should “take all steps necessary to remedy these violations.” Abtin Mehdizadegan, who represented plaintiff 2600 Holdings doing business as Southern Roots, said in a statement Tuesday that he is seeking specifics as to how the state plans to fulfill Wright’s order. “We are pleased to see that the state is proceeding with the revocation of RVRC’s license as required by the writ of mandamus,” Mehdizadegan said. “Since receiving the letter, we have asked for clarity as to what steps have been taken to revoke the license but have yet to receive any details. While we do not understand the state’s silence, any bureaucratic maneuvering should be well behind us. We remain cautiously optimistic that the state is implementing the writ of mandamus in good faith and without delay. We hope to receive that confirmation shortly.” Wright sided with the plaintiffs in the case, finding that Nolan’s application was not in compliance with the state constitution or the Medical Marijuana Commission’s rules. Wright found that Nolan intended to use a site that was less than 3,000 feet from the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Facility. The facility meets the commission’s definition of a school and cultivation facilities cannot be located within 3,000 feet of a school. The judge also found that Nolan had dissolved the business entity under which he had originally applied for a license. Nolan received the license under a new business entity, which the judge found was not allowed.
