ATHOL – Following the suspension of Elev8 Cannabis’ license, town officials are awaiting word from the state’s Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) before taking further action.

At its meeting on April 18, the Selectboard received an update from Town Manager Shaun Suhoski on the current status of the business. Suhoski had reached out to the commission to discuss the 21-day period for an appeal to be filed for the suspension. At the time of the meeting, he is still awaiting a response.

“So, I don’t have an answer to that,” he said. “So the store remains closed, and I don’t know the status of (Adedeji) at this time.”

Suhoski said he would place the issue on a future agenda “unless we get some information in the next week.”

Operations of the marijuana retailer were suspended on March 25 for a number of violations. A spokesperson for the commission said there was no comment at this time when asked if an appeal has been filed.

In addition, the store’s owner, Seun Adediji, was arrested on March 23 after failing to show up for a court appearance in Orange District Court on a variety of charges stemming from an earlier arrest. At the request of his attorney, Adedeji has undergone an evaluation to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. His next court date is May 2.

“The prudent thing, I think, would be to find out what is the determination of the Cannabis Control Commission,” said Town Counsel John Barrett. “Obviously, based on the (host community) agreement, the board could take action. But I would certainly recommend that any proposed action be – that the person be given notice and maybe a request maybe to attend a meeting of the board to address the concerns. While the Host Community Agreement does provide that if the business is not operating that you can terminate the agreement.”

Barrett then said there are things the board needs to consider.

“You have kind of a two-part situation here where you’ve got approval from the town, but you also have approval from the Cannabis Control Commission,” he said. “You don’t want to set up a conflict there. But it’s up to the board at this point whether you want to postpone any further action until you hear definitively from the CCC, or take some action now.”

Board member Stephen Raymond motioned that the board wait until the CCC makes its next move before taking any action of its own, which was unanimously approved.

Asked if the town could terminate the HCA if Elev8 had ceased doing business as the result of a suspension by the commission or only if it closes of its own volition, Barrett said, “That’s what we need to find out.”

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.

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