COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed an antitrust lawsuit against nine multistate cannabis companies, accusing them of engaging in coordinated practices that reduced product choice, harmed consumers, and disadvantaged smaller Ohio-based cannabis businesses.
The lawsuit stems from an October 2024 tip submitted to Yost’s office by an employee in the Ohio cannabis industry. The tip alleged widespread “shelf-space allotments” among large, vertically integrated cannabis companies operating in Ohio and nationwide. Investigators later corroborated the allegations.
According to the tip and the lawsuit, the multistate operators “entered into reciprocal purchasing agreements — negotiated at a national level — to prioritize one another’s products in Ohio dispensaries while reducing or eliminating purchases from independent Ohio cultivators and processors.”
“Our investigation uncovered allegations of an industry-wide scheme designed to push small Ohio businesses out of the market,” Yost said. “Ohio’s antitrust laws protect competition and consumers, not backroom deals that rig the system for a select few.”
The tip indicated that senior representatives from the major operators met in late 2022 and agreed to reduce purchases from independent businesses to preserve shelf space for one another during a period of increased supply and declining prices. According to the tip, “some companies established explicit internal quotas, reserving a substantial percentage of dispensary shelf space for products sourced through reciprocal agreements with other multistate operators.”
The defendants named in the lawsuit are Ascend Wellness, Ayr Wellness, The Cannabist Company, Cresco Labs, Curaleaf, Green Thumb Industries, Jushi, Trulieve, and Verano.
The lawsuit alleges each company violated Ohio’s Valentine Act by:
- “Entering into reciprocal trade agreements with competitors.”
- “Sharing competitively sensitive information.”
- “Engaging in discriminatory distribution practices that disadvantaged independent Ohio cannabis operators.”
According to the complaint, these actions “reduced product choice and quality for Ohio consumers, stifled innovation, and allowed the defendants to maintain or increase supra-competitive prices in the state’s cannabis market.”
Attorney General Yost is seeking injunctive relief to halt the alleged unlawful conduct.