Colorado hemp company sues governor, others over state contract loss

A Colorado hemp company has filed a corruption lawsuit against Gov. Jared Polis and several of his advisers, saying that a 2020 bidding process to oversee the Colorado Hemp Advancement and Management Plan was rigged.

BoCo Farms alleges in the 125-page suit filed last month that Polis and others conspired to make sure a Denver consultancy, the Marijuana Policy Group, “would be awarded the most lucrative hemp related contracts in (Colorado Department of Agriculture) history.” 

BoCo Farms also claims that Polis has investments in hemp through holding companies and improperly pushed for the creation of a “hemp value retention program” to allow Colorado hemp farmers to sell hot hemp.

The company also alleges that various state officials slandered the company and damaged its business.

The entire process was corrupt,” the suit claims.

Apart from Polis, the list of defendants includes 15 individuals — ranging from Polis’ adviser on cannabis, Ean Seeb, to a former deputy state attorney general — and the Marijuana Policy Group.

The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial and unspecified damages.