But a two-judge appellate court panel made it clear the state must cease all action on the licenses as several applicants rejected for a technical issue appeal the decision.
That means those who applied for a medical pot license last summer will have to keep waiting.
Last month, the court granted a stay in the 2019 application process for new medical marijuana businesses, launching the appeals process and ultimately delaying the award of licenses. That came after the health department rejected as many as two dozen applicants because it could not open some PDF files submitted.
But the health department sent notice to Joshua Bauchner, an attorney for several of the groups, last week, saying it had interpreted the court’s order differently: It did not have to cease scoring the applications that have already passed an initial review of completeness.