Ohio Attorney General Accuses Multistate Cannabis Operators of Price Fixing

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has filed an antitrust lawsuit against nine
multistate cannabis operators (MSOs) for anti-competitive practices that
included reciprocal purchasing agreements to rig the market and
disadvantage Ohio’s independent cannabis licensees.

The MSOs named in the lawsuit include:

- Ascend Wellness
- Ayr Wellness
- The Cannabist Company
- Cresco Labs
- Curaleaf
- Green Thumb Industries
- Jushi
- Trulieve
- Verano

According to the lawsuit, senior representatives from the companies agreed
in late 2022 to reduce purchases from independent operators to “preserve
shelf space for one another during a period of increased supply and
declining prices,” with some companies even establishing “explicit internal
quotas” that were “negotiated at a national level,” the attorney general’s
office said in a press release.

“Our investigation uncovered allegations of an industry-wide scheme
designed to push small Ohio businesses out of the market. Ohio’s antitrust
laws protect competition and consumers, not backroom deals that rig the
system for a select few.” — Attorney General Yost, in a statement

The lawsuit argues that the conspiracies have reduced cannabis product
quality, restricted product choices, stifled product innovation, and bred
supracompetitive pricing for the cannabis industry, a violation of the
state’s antitrust laws.