How the scoring went on medical marijuana cultivation permits

Here’s the link to all scores.

We’ve shown the top 11 scores. The top six (by five applicants, one of which can only proceed with one of its two applications) are shown. If any of the top five doesn’t produce the $100,000 cash and $500,000 bond to proceed in seven days, the commission will move down the list.

The top scorer, Natural State Medicinals, seemed near perfect with all commissioners, even Dr. Carlos Roman, a Little Rock physician, who otherwise had much lower scores for the top applicants.

Sometime today, more information is expected to be released from the applications to further identify the owners of the successful applicants.

FYI: This is the roster of commissioners:

Dr. Ronda Henry-Tillman, M.D. – Chairwoman (Appointed by Governor Hutchinson)
James Miller (Appointed by Senator Dismang)
Dr. J. Carlos Roman M.D. (Appointed by Senator Dismang) (2 Year Term)
Dr. Stephen J. Carroll, PharmD. (Appointed by Representative Gillam) (2 Year Term)
Travis W. Story, Esq. (Appointed by Representative Gillam)

Based on earlier rumors about players in this round of permits, some pretty significant names representing wealth and powerful political connections didn’t make the cut. The absence of an immediate howl isn’t necessarily a seal of approval on the process, but it’s better than the alternative. David Couch, for example, the lawyer who was a driving force in the campaign to legalize medical marijuana, says he was a part of one of the applicant groups that didn’t make the cut. Also missing, apparently, are a couple of major sources of money for the petition drive that got the measure on the ballot.