Marijuana company Curaleaf fined $250,000 for not asking permission for change of ownership

The Cannabis Control Commission fined Wakefield-based marijuana company Curaleaf $250,000 for failing to disclose a change of ownership and ask permission from state regulators before completing the transaction.

The agreement, signed Thursday by the commission and Curaleaf, reads, “In assessing this fine against Respondent, the Commission acknowledges that Respondent’s violation was the result of Respondent’s good-faith but mistaken interpretation of the Commission’s regulations, that Respondent has fully cooperated with the Commission’s investigation, and that the Respondent has accepted responsibility.”

Cannabis Control Commission Chairman Steven Hoffman said the company has been “very constructive and collaborative” in addressing the problem. “I think they were wrong, but I can understand they were acting in good faith,” he said.

Curaleaf is the largest marijuana company in the U.S. It has medical marijuana dispensaries open in Hanover and Oxford. It has received provisional licenses to sell recreational marijuana in Oxford and grow marijuana and manufacture products for the recreational market in Webster. The company has applied for licenses to open stores in Ware and Provincetown. [Read more at MassLive]