Former Heisman Trophy winner Sam Bradford is among the new owners of Little Rock medical marijuana dispensary Good Day Farm Cantrell.
The state Medical Marijuana Commission approved a transfer of ownership yesterday that will bring on about 80 owners of the dispensary located at 3720 Cantrell Road. In December, the commission approved the dispensary’s move a short drive away to 3600 Cantrell Road. Good Day acquired that building and has demolished it in recent weeks.
Bradford, a quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, won the Heisman Trophy as college football’s top player in 2008. Bradford was the top overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft and played eight seasons in the NFL for the Rams, Eagles, Vikings and Cardinals.
Wallis Blair Allen Jr., the previous sole owner of the dispensary, will retain a stake of about 4% in the business. The largest shareholders will be Albert P. Bush IV and Johnathan Cazes, both of Louisiana, who will each own about 13% of the business. Bradford will own 3.86% of the dispensary.
Commission spokesman Scott Hardin confirmed that the Sam Bradford listed among the new owners is the former Heisman Trophy winner.
In other business, the commission passed on another chance to approve new ownership at a West Memphis dispensary. The commissioners voted last month to table a transfer of ownership request by Body and Mind dispensary until yesterday’s meeting. On Tuesday, Comprehensive Care Group, the limited liability company that owns the dispensary, filed a lawsuit against Body and Mind, the store’s Nevada-based management company.
The store endured a tumultuous March amid a dispute over ownership and management of the dispensary. Body and Mind ended its management of the store on March 15 and Robert deBin, CEO of White Hall medical marijuana cultivator Natural State Medicinals, led a new management group the following day.
The store closed for a few days in March but reopened on March 27.
On Tuesday, Comprehensive Care Group argued in a court filing that it had paid off a debt of $1.25 million to Body and Mind. The ownership dispute involves a convertible loan agreement in which debt can be paid off in equity in the business. Comprehensive Care Group said in the suit that it paid off the loan, so an ownership interest in the business is unnecessary.
Typically, the commission approves changes of ownership for marijuana-related businesses, but the plaintiffs say this matter is “beyond the authority and competence of the MMC to decide.”
On Thursday, the commissioners voted 3-2 to table the matter until the store’s legal matters are resolved.
The dispensary also notified the commission that it would be changing its name to Comprehensive Care Group. The move did not require board approval.
The commission voted to table the transfer of ownership request for Good Day Farm Hensley, which was attempting to bring on about 90 new owners in addition to previous owner Todd Denton.
Julie Chavis, the commission’s attorney from the state attorney general’s office, said it had been difficult to vet all of the new owners for the two Good Day Farm outlets in the 14-day time period typically allowed for such transactions. She called the documents “voluminous” and said they involved a “complex transaction.” In some cases, the new owner was a business, which was owned by another business, which was owned by individuals, she said.
The commission approved a motion to give the attorney general’s office and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Division more time to review documents in the future. The change will require documents to be turned in to staff at the prior meeting in order to be considered at the next meeting.
Before the meeting, the cultivator known as Revolution pulled its request for a change of ownership. Commission documents showed that Henry Paul Willmuth of Little Rock would have become the new owner. The current owners are Tamika Edwards of Little Rock and Dustin Shroyer of Naperville, Illinois.
The commission was unable to approve a transfer of ownership request for Enlightened Cannabis of Morrilton because the ownership change was contingent upon the ownership change at Revolution. Edwards and Shroyer are also the owners of the Morrilton dispensary, commission documents show.
An attorney for Enlightened Cannabis of Morrilton said a new document had been submitted to allow for the ownership change without it being contingent on the approval of the Revolution deal, but the commission chose to table the matter.
Julie Chavis also said the attorney general’s office is continuing to work on the draft of a rule to limit the number of processing licenses, which are currently unlimited. Chavis said she has gotten feedback from industry representatives and will need to get input from the office of Gov. Sarah Sanders’ office as well. Any rule change would include a public comment period and would require approval from the governor’s office and the Arkansas Legislative Council.