Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Thursday sued nine major marijuana multistate operators for allegedly conspiring in “anti-competitive conduct to reduce product choice and keep prices artificially high” that harmed small businesses in violation of state antitrust laws.
In a statement Friday, Yost said the publicly traded companies engaged in “an industry-wide scheme designed to push small Ohio businesses out of the market.”
“Ohio’s antitrust laws protect competition and consumers, not backroom deals that rig the system for a select few,” Yost said in a news release.
According to the lawsuit, 13 of Ohio’s 60 counties with cannabis retailers have only MSO-owned stores.
The cannabis companies named in Yost’s lawsuit are:
- New Jersey-headquartered Ascend Wellness
- Ayr Wellness, based in Florida
- Massachusetts-based The Cannabist Co., formerly known as Columbia Care
- Chicago-headquartered Cresco Labs
- Curaleaf Holdings, headquartered in Connecticut
- Chicago-based Green Thumb Industries
- Boca Raton, Florida-based Jushi Holdings
- Tallahassee, Florida-based Trulieve Cannabis Corp.
- Chicago-headquartered Verano Holdings
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