Cannabis Conflict in Chicago: Cresco Labs Sues Green Thumb

Two of the largest cannabis multistate operators in the U.S. are locking horns in a legal battle over a top-level employee who recently resigned from one company and then was hired by the other.

Cresco Labs filed a lawsuit July 19 in the Circuit Court of Cook County—the largest of 24 judicial circuits in Illinois—accusing Green Thumb Industries of stealing a high-level employee whom the plaintiff maintains is in violation of a noncompete clause, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

Cresco Labs, founded in 2013, and Green Thumb, established in 2014, are both headquartered in Chicago and have been two of the biggest vertically integrated players in Illinois since the state issued medical cannabis licenses in 2014 (followed by adult-use legalization in 2019). Cresco’s Sunnyside retail brand accounts for 10 dispensaries in the state, while Green Thumb has 11 retail locations in Illinois and operates under the RISE dispensary name.

The legal dispute names Christopher Tonge, a chemist and former director of technical services at Cresco Labs, who resigned his position with the company in May and then took on a similar role at Green Thumb, the Sun-Times reported. Cresco notes in the lawsuit that Tonge co-invented a “unique process” to extract cannabis oil and that the company applied for two patents related that process. 

The lawsuit also states that Matt Ingram, Green Thumb’s senior vice president of operations, who previously worked for Cresco Labs, recruited Tongue despite being familiar with Cresco’s contractual noncompete provision barring certain employees from joining rival companies for 12 months following a resignation, the Sun-Times reported.

A Green Thumb spokeswoman denied the allegations in a statement to the news outlet.

“Instead of investing to retain current employees or support former employees through their transition following a recent sizable layoff, Cresco is spending money on lawyers to monitor and sue its former employees for finding new jobs,” the spokeswoman said. “This move is not only distasteful to their former employees looking to continue their careers in the cannabis industry, but also a total waste of Cresco’s capital and resources.”