Chances of Athens marijuana cultivation site go up in smoke

The possibility of a medical marijuana cultivation site coming to Athens County may have disappeared after the state denied the necessary license to the Westerville-based company interested in building it.

[dropcap txtcolor="#234a83" style="dropcap1"]B[/dropcap]lack Elk LLC, a company which is partnered with Edison Biotech at Ohio University, has filed an appeal with the state after its application for a provisional cultivator's license was denied. If the decision is not reversed, the company will be unable to build a medical marijuana cultivation site in the Athens area.Ohio U's partnership with Black Elk may be reevaluated in the near future based on the result of the appeal. According to the Athens News, the agreement meant that Edison Biotech would be able to test cannabis for further, currently unknown health benefits.Ohio issued 24 total cultivator's licenses and denied 146 other companies, including Black Elk. Black Elk filed its application through its subsidiary Black Elk Farms, according to a list published by Columbus Business First. It is one of 63 companies to file appeals with the state regarding the denial of a cultivator's license.Black Elk has not made an official statement regarding the future of its partnership with Edison Biotech nor will it mention the details of its application for a cultivator's license."We are going through an appeal with the state,” Scott Holowicki, a co-founder of Black Elk, said. “Until that process is finalized, we are not at liberty to discuss the details of our application.”The majority of the appeals filed regarding these cultivator's licenses have not had hearings set yet. There may be appeals filed in the near future, since some companies have changed addresses and reset the deadline for filing in doing so.Black Elk was co-founded by Chris Vince and Scott Holowicki. Its purpose is to provide safe and natural medicines and products that are backed by scientific research.