Cannabis Business Executive reports
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) last Friday issued a rare summary suspension order against Elev8 Cannabis, its majority owner, Seun Adedeji, and several registered agents of the business, after a video was posted to Instagram a day earlier in which Adedeji threatened to kill Elev8 employees and their families. Adedeji, who also has an Elev8 dispensary in Oregon, was subsequently arrested for failing to appear at a prior court hearing, according to reports, and remains incarcerated.
The five-minute video features a shirtless Adedeji in the parking area outside his Elev8 Athol dispensary speaking directly into the camera. It begins as a pitch for people to visit the store but quickly devolves into a repetitive rant that becomes increasingly and explicitly threatening as Adedeji appears to melt down even as his rage increases.
In addition to the threats, Adedeji also claims in the video that the store is open and staffed by him alone, a violation of regulations requiring a sufficient number of staff at all times, and further indication that something is seriously amiss. The CCC says it took action once it learned of the video, and issued a summary suspension order on March 24 that went into effect the following day.
“On Thursday, March 23, 2023, Commission staff became aware of the video published on social media by Mr. Adedeji,” said a commission spokesperson in reply to a request for comment from Cannabis Business Executive. “This licensee has been under Commission investigation, and Massachusetts regulations enable the agency to take additional action, including but not limited to the issuance of fines, orders that require the business to cease or suspend operations, and license revocation. As such, the agency issued the licensee a Summary Suspension Order effective March 25, 2023, at 12:00 A.M, which suspended and required the immediate cessation of operations associated with Elev8’s Marijuana Retailer in Athol and provisional licenses located in Williamstown and Orange.”
As detailed in the summary order, Elev8 was under investigation before the video was posted for issues related to a February 8 “renewal application … for its final license which will expire on April 10, 2023,” per the order.
“On February 13, 2023,” continued the order, “the Commission’s Licensing staff sent a Request for Information (RFI) … to Respondent (Adedeji) seeking additional information on the license renewal application. On February 17, 2023, the Commission issued a Notice of Intent to Limit Sales of Marijuana and Marijuana Products (the ‘Notice’) to Respondent … due to Respondent’s substantial noncompliance with Commission laws.
“The Notice identified ten substantial violations of Commission regulations and mandated Respondent take corrective action to address each of the deficiencies by March 9, 2023,” it added. “The Notice warned that failure to take corrective action by that date could result in the Commission issuing an order prohibiting Respondent from selling Marijuana and Marijuana Products at its Athol store.”
What followed, according to the order, was a series of actions by Adedeji to mollify the commission, including taking “disciplinary action against the Agents that were identified in the Notice as lacking mandatory training and related records, resulting in their immediate dismissal” and promoting “one of his staff to serve as Respondent’s Interim Chief Executive Officer.”
Three weeks later, following further exchanges with the CCC, the interim CEO was fired by Adedeji on or around March 14. At the same time, per the order, “Respondent’s General Manager of the Athol retail store resigned in protest of Mr. Adedeji’s conduct towards and termination of the Interim Chief Executive Officer. Respondent’s General Manager of the Oregon retail store and all Oregon retail staff also resigned.”
A week later, the commission sent a third request for information (RFI) to Adedeji seeking “the same information originally requested.” Adedeji replied to the request the next day, informing the commission that the “store is closed, we are fully compliant ccc recording regulation. Temporarily closed. Business decision as we charter blue ocean [wave emoji].”
The following day, he uploaded the video to his Instagram account, where it remains posted.
Read full report at
Massachusetts Regulators Suspend Three Elev8 Licenses Following Threats of Violence, Owner Arrested
