ATLANTA – While the Georgia legislature battles it out over possible changes to the Georgia Medical Cannabis law, another lawsuit has been filed against the state.

Eight losing bidders filed suit in mid-February in Fulton County claiming the selection process was unlawful and infused with fraud and corruption.

“We’re going to fight to make sure it’s done the right way,” said attorney Jake Evans.

Last year, the Georgia Medical Cannabis Commission awarded potentially lucrative licenses to six companies to grow and sell medical marijuana.

For two years, the FOX 5 I-Team has investigated the awarding of medical marijuana licenses in Georgia. The I-Team exposed controversial corporate backgrounds involving five of the winning bidders.

Then, another bid controversy surfaced.

“I was a consultant on one of the companies that was applying this past year,” Rep. Deborah Silcox said during a recent medical cannabis committee meeting.

State Rep. Deborah Silcox admitted during a recent committee hearing that she consulted with one of the companies last year, before she was elected in 2022.

Reporter: “What kind of help?”

Silcox: “Advice, advice, because I knew the legislative process. Just advice.”

She voted on a recent medical marijuana bill. She will not say who her client was, but she says the company lost its bid.

The FOX 5 I-Team also reported how thousands of pages of winning bids, by law, were redacted and kept secret from losing bidders, the public, and the media. [Read More @ Fox5]