BILLINGS – The City of Billings has pulled business licenses for 25 medical marijuana shops after discovering they’re not registered with the state as caregivers.
City planning director Candi Beaudry said her department sent cease-and-desist letters Thursday to the 25 businesses after the city compared its list of city-licensed medical marijuana clinics with the list of people with state “caregiver” licenses.
The 25 businesses must close because they were not considered to be legally operating with the city commission passed a six-month moratorium on such businesses on May 11, Beaudry said. It’s not clear if those businesses were open after the moratorium passed.
The city has issued more than 80 business licenses to medical marijuana businesses.
The Billings Gazette asked the city for the names of the 25 businesses. The request was turned over to the city’s legal department. State law does not allow the Department of Public Health and Human Services to release the names of licensed caregivers or those with medical marijuana cards.