ST. LOUIS (AP) — A judge has sided with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in a lawsuit challenging the state’s effort to keep secret the identities of those seeking to sell medical marijuana in Missouri.
Cole County Judge Daniel Green granted on Friday the newspaper’s motion for summary judgment to force release of the records. He rejected the state’s effort to dismiss the lawsuit.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Green delayed the effective date of his order so the state could decide whether to appeal.
State officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The newspaper sued the Department of Health and Senior Services in January alleging the agency violated the Sunshine Law by refusing to disclose application information.
The agency argued the amendment legalizing medical marijuana precluded the release of such information.
