2:04 P.M. UPDATE:
A spokesman for the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration said Wednesday afternoon that an Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. had been postponed.
Earlier Wednesday, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen had issued a temporary restraining order, preventing the commission from awarding Arkansas' first medical cannabis growing licenses.
Two rejected applicants had sued the commission Tuesday, claiming there were flaws in the commission's evaluation process.
A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Friday, after which the commission plans to set a new meeting date.
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazettefor full details.
EARLIER:
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen on Wednesday halted, for now, the issuance of Arkansas' first medical marijuana growing permits that were scheduled to be handed out later that afternoon.
One of the unsuccessful applicants for a growing permit, Naturalis Health LLC, had sued the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission over its process for evaluating the 95 growing applications.
Griffen in his order said Naturalis Health "asserts facts showing a substantial likelihood of success on the merits regarding violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, due process and equal protection."
DOCUMENT: Read Griffen's order
Naturalis was one of two companies that sued the commission Tuesday, claiming that the scoring process was flawed. The panel has a meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday at which commissioners were expected to award the first cannabis growing licenses to five winning applicants.
It's now unclear whether that meeting will occur.
"[The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration's] legal team and [Arkansas Beverage Control Division] leadership are currently reviewing the situation to determine whether or not a meeting will take place today," Finance Department spokesman Scott Hardin said in an email.
Griffen has scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for Friday morning.