Ex-Congressman Sues Mass. Over Pot Denial

A former Massachusetts congressman whose bid to open three medical marijuana dispensaries was rejected by state regulators has filed a lawsuit.

Former U.S. Rep. William Delahunt is asking a court to force the state Public Health Department to give him licenses to run dispensaries in Dennis, Masphee and Taunton.

In a lawsuit filed this week in Suffolk Superior Court, Delahunt's company, Medical Marijuana of Massachusetts, said regulators broke their own rules and reacted unreasonably to negative publicity when they reversed themselves and rejected the company's bid to run dispensaries after initially granting approval.

The Boston Globe reports that Delahunt's company says the reversal was arbitrary and capricious because it was based on publicity considerations rather than the merits of the company's applications.

A health department spokeswoman defended the selection process.