Missouri’s largest cannabis operator is facing a second antitrust lawsuit in less than two weeks, this time from a Kansas City consumer who claims the company and dozens of affiliated entities orchestrated a scheme to suppress competition and drive up prices in the state’s recreational marijuana market.
The class-action lawsuit, filed in Jackson County Circuit Court by Kansas City contractor Damon Frost Jr., accuses Good Day Farm and more than 40 related limited liability companies of using a network of dispensary licenses to dominate Missouri’s cannabis industry. Frost filed the case on behalf of Missouri residents who purchased recreational marijuana products from the defendants.
“Defendants’ illegal scheme has successfully limited choice and locked out third party brands,” the lawsuit states, “thereby decreasing competition and increasing costs for Missouri consumers.”
Frost and the proposed class are seeking damages for consumers and court action aimed at dismantling what they describe as an unlawful business structure. Frost declined to comment on the litigation, according to the source material.
Good Day Farm denied the allegations. Lisa Weser, speaking on behalf of the company, said the claims are “baseless and without merit,” according to a statement provided to media outlets. Weser added that the company operates in compliance with Missouri laws and intends to aggressively defend itself against the allegations.
The new lawsuit follows a separate class-action complaint filed two weeks earlier by two Missouri cannabis manufacturing companies. That earlier case alleges Good Day Farm and its affiliates control more than 60 of Missouri’s 224 dispensary licenses through ownership arrangements, management agreements and acquisition structures—representing more than a quarter of the state’s dispensary market. Per a statement included in the earlier reporting, Weser said the company would not allow legal challenges to interfere with its mission of serving patients, customers and employees.
Read more: Ohio Attorney General Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Major Cannabis Operators
At the center of both lawsuits is Missouri’s cannabis licensing framework. When Missouri voters approved recreational marijuana legalization in 2022, the constitutional amendment changed language that previously prevented entities under “substantially common control, ownership, or management” from holding too many licenses. The revised recreational cannabis provision limits ownership to 10 percent of dispensary licenses but removed the language referencing common control and management.
According to public records cited in the source material, Good Day Farm began operating in Missouri in 2020. After recreational legalization passed, employees associated with the company registered additional LLCs that later acquired multiple dispensaries, cultivation facilities and manufacturing sites across the state.
Missouri regulators also confirmed changes in compliance procedures after the constitutional amendment. Lisa Cox, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the Division of Cannabis Regulation stopped collecting affidavits related to “substantially common control” once the amendment took effect, according to a statement. “The law and rules do not require analysis for substantially common control or management with comprehensive licenses,” Cox said.
Court filings from the earlier lawsuit also describe agreements in which outside investors formally owned certain LLCs, while managers selected by Good Day Farm allegedly retained authority over pricing, product selection and operational decisions. One agreement states: “The manager and/or its affiliates also operate multiple other dispensaries, cultivation facilities and processing facilities in the Missouri marijuana industry.”
Frost’s lawsuit argues that these arrangements violate Missouri’s consumer protection laws, including the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, and alleges consumers have been harmed by reduced competition and inflated cannabis prices statewide.
Source: News Tribune
