Her order gave credence to many of the complaints brought by plaintiffs who did not win coveted and limited dispensary licenses in 2018 and argued the state’s process for vetting applications was marred by favoritism and shifting standards midway through the process.

Commissioners unanimously voted on Friday to approve the settlement, which involves some 17 plaintiffs and reshuffles some of the licenses that the state awarded in the disputed 2018 application round. It comes in the middle of a trial so big that it had to be moved to the Las Vegas Convention Center and as part of a consolidated lawsuit with so many parties it has earned the nickname “World War Weed.”

A series of lawsuits dating back more than a year and a half accused the state of unfair practices in deciding in 2018 who should receive coveted and strictly limited licenses to expand the number of retail marijuana locations of their business.

Yemenidjian alleges that Spirtos has accused him of criminal activity to other people, including lobbyist and former Assembly Speaker John Oceguera during an encounter at Gov. Steve Sisolak’s inaugural ball.

Records offer a glimpse of the challenges that will lie ahead as Nevada once again overhauls its marijuana regulation next year and adopts an oversight regime not unlike the one that reined casinos into a respected mainstream.

Few who are trying to keep up with the plot twists in the state’s nascent marijuana industry were surprised when embattled Nevada Department of Taxation official Jorge Pupo was placed on leave last month and then later terminated.

Nevada’s marijuana licensing agency “acted beyond the scope of its authority,” took actions that were “arbitrary and capricious,” and engaged in “conduct that is a serious issue,” according to a court order filed in late August by District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez. The case is a blow to the marijuana legalization movement overall and shows how the licensing process can become subject to corruption when not set up correctly.

Jorge Pupo, who oversaw a recent round of marijuana dispensary licensing that came under fire for being unfair, is no longer with the Nevada Department of Taxation, officials confirmed Tuesday.

The state has not released further details about why Pupo is on leave from his job as the agency's deputy executive director, citing the fact that the matter is a personnel issue. But Pupo came under fire in court over the summer and most recently in a newly filed lawsuit by marijuana companies that want the entire application review and licensing round redone.

The department and related entities “are now engaging in a cover-up of the rampant illegality and corruption that infected the license application process for the recreational Dispensaries,” the complaint says.

After a hearing that opened a cannabis of worms and a judge’s order that exposed a regulatory road paved with bad intentions, Nevada’s marijuana industry oversight has been unmasked as a morass of abject incompetence and potential corruption.

A Las Vegas judge has issued a partial preliminary injunction in a drawn-out, hard-fought dispute between marijuana companies and the state, prohibiting certain businesses who won a conditional state license in December from moving forward to open dispensaries.

Clark County District Court Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez said her ruling would be based on whether the department exceeded the scope of its powers and if the state acted arbitrarily and capriciously in implementing a voter-approved ballot question legalizing recreational marijuana. She will also be looking at how ownership diversity and dispensary floor plans factored into application scores. 

“I'll just admit it — I'm skeptical that you're able to do the kind of investigation and enforcement actions that this kind of privileged license requires," said J. Brin Gibson, chair of the advisory panel that is designing a Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board.