Ex-Cannabis Commissioner: Oregon Gov. Fired Me Because Of Her Ties To Controversial Weed Company, See You In Court

Ex-director of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), Steve Marks, filed a tort claim notice with the state arguing that Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek fired him over her connections with the owners of the troubled marijuana company La Mota. 

What Happened: Kotek pushed Marks, who was running the OLCC for almost 10 years to resign in January, and now he is accusing Kotek that she sacked him because of Rosa Cazares, CEO at La Mota asked her to do so, reported Willamette Week (WW).

“Marks was summarily forced out of office by Gov. Tina Kotek in early 2023 because Rosa Cazares, prominent owner of one of Oregon’s largest dispensary chains and an opponent of cannabis regulations, wanted him gone,” alleges the claim, submitted by Marks’ attorney, Bill Gary of the Harrang Long firm. “Cazares placed herself in close orbit to the governor and to then-Secretary of State Shemia Fagan.”

Per the report, Cazares and her partner Aaron Mitchell contributed to several Oregon Democratic politicians, including Kotek with $68,000 and former secretary of state Shemia Fagan. 

This May, Fagan resigned following a public scandal related to the controversial cannabis consultant job with La Mota’s affiliate Verieded Holdings, which she took as a side gig. Several days before the resignation, Kotek apologized to the people of Oregon for “exercising poor judgment.” 

Generous Donations On Heels Of The Settlement 

Per WW, Kotek denied that her relationship with Cazares and Mithell made her push for Marks’ resignation. The governor also highlighted that a 23-year-old whiskey scandal involving OCLL that happened early this year, had nothing to do with Mark’s leaving the commission. 

The tort claim notice also says that in 2018, OLCC accused La Mota of selling marijuana on the black market, a case dragging on for two years. Shortly before the settlement in early 2020, Cazares and Mitchell started financially backing Democrat lawmakers.

“In short, because Marks supported and carried out regulations that Cazares saw as onerous, she bought his ouster through financial graft,” the tort claim notice says. “It was under Marks’ leadership that OLCC adopted and enforced the regulatory framework that Cazares sought to dismantle....Accordingly, Cazares turned her sights to removing Marks from office.”

WW noted that Kotek’s spokesperson couldn’t be reached at the time of the publishing.

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Photo: Courtesy of CRYSTALWEED cannabis via Unsplash