Little Rock dispensary gets new owners July 15, 2022 By Griffin Coop A Little Rock dispensary has new owners after state regulators Thursday unanimously approved a Little Rock property developer and his business partner to take over the business. The state Medical Marijuana Commission approved the sale of Curaleaf dispensary to James Barnes and Matt Summit. Barnes is a business owner and property developer who had a hand in developing the Aloft Hotel in West Little Rock and the Staybridge Suites on University Ave. Summit is the Chief Financial Officer of BBA Corp. and is a former Vice President at Stephens, Inc., according to his LinkedIn page. Barnes and Summit will each own 50% of GL Little Rock LLC, the entity that will own the dispensary located at 7303 Kanis Road. The ownership application states that Barnes and Summit “will serve as co-managers of the enterprise until a third-party manager is appointed.” The application does not mention who the third-party manager will be and GL Little Rock’s attorney Michael Goswami asked that the commission not disclose the details of the management agreement. Barnes is also the founder of BBA Corp., according to his LinkedIn page. BBA Corp. provides services to more than 100 colleges in 24 states and is the third-largest college textbook company in the country, according to the company’s website. Barnes’ wife, Terry, owns a 2.353% stake in Good Day Farm Cultivation. The Barneses have been the subject of several lawsuits related to their textbook business. Curaleaf was owned by Lindsey Lovett Estes, Lesley Claire Darnall, Dr. Horace Green, Steven Weisman, Matthew Darin, Mitchell Kahn, David Brown and Marc Gordon. Dark Horse, Pine Bluff Agriceuticals The commission unanimously approved a change of ownership for Little Rock marijuana processor Dark Horse Medicinals, which added 17 new owners to raise capital, according to ownership documents. Previous Casey Flippo [59.25%] and Sean Clarkson [20.375%] reduced their shares to 31.22% and 10.03%, respectively. Previous owner Corey Porter held a 20.375% stake in the company and is no longer an owner. The new owners with the largest shares are Melinda Chaky Lester [8%] and the William B. Carwell Revocable Trust [7.04%]. Dark Horse opened its marijuana processing operation in West Little Rock last year. The commission also unanimously approved a change of ownership for Pine Bluff Agriceuticals, which owns Hash and Company dispensary in Pine Bluff. The previous owners were Teresa Wilkins [51%] and Michael Wilkins [49%], both of Russellville. The new owner is Marcia Cole of Searcy who owns all of the business. Pine Bluff Agriceuticals’ attorney told the commissioners he would provide the considerations of the sale but asked that they not be disclosed. Disclosure Commissioner Kevin Case expressed concern at the end of the meeting about the lack of disclosure by some companies in the state medical marijuana industry. “Commissioner Case noted companies that choose to do business in the medical marijuana industry know certain information is required by the state/MMC [Medical Marijuana Commission] and he won’t vote to approve future requests if the information is not provided,” said Scott Hardin, spokesman for the state Medical Marijuana Commission.
