ORANGE — The owner of Elev8 Cannabis in Athol will remain at Bridgewater State Hospital for the time being, after a doctor deemed him incompetent to stand trial.

Seun Adedeji, 29, appeared in Orange District Court on Tuesday, when Judge Laurie MacLeod agreed with the doctor’s finding and ruled he was at least temporarily incompetent. He is set to have a hearing in Bridgewater within the next two weeks.

Bridgewater State Hospital is a medium-security facility housing male patients, some of whom are pretrial detainees sent by courts for competency and criminal responsibility evaluations.

Adedeji was arrested by the Athol Police Department on March 23 after failing to appear in court six days earlier to answer to charges of wanton and lascivious conduct and indecent exposure. Attorney Aliki Recklitis, of the Committee for Public Counsel Services, was granted her request to have Adedeji evaluated for competence. Before her client was brought into the courtroom on Tuesday, Recklitis told MacLeod she still believes Adedeji is incompetent and that he wants to hire a private attorney.

Upon being ushered into the courtroom, Adedeji loudly rambled for several minutes while addressing MacLeod, repeatedly telling the judge he is a man and a father.

“Outside of work, I’m actually just a dad, overall,” he said. “I love my daughter. I love her friends. They’re cool. They’re cool kids.”

Adedeji said he is the parent of “a 1-plus-year-old,” later elaborating that his child is going on 6.

He said he wants to hire a private attorney but he has no animosity toward Recklitis, who he said “is awesome” and “doing her job, as the state needs her to do, and that’s totally respectable.”

Adedeji told MacLeod he started his cannabis business with $50,000 and slept in his shop to become successful. He said he has been featured in Bloomberg Businessweek and Leafly, a website dedicated to cannabis use and education.

“I’ve made one mistake in my life and I pray that this mistake does not consequentially take my life away,” he told MacLeod.

Adedeji seemed confused when MacLeod found him incompetent to stand trial and wanted to understand why. MacLeod eventually suggested to Adedeji that he not speak anymore without consulting his legal counsel.

“I want to say, ‘Thank you and God bless you,’” Adedeji told MacLeod as he was led out of the courtroom.

Elev8 opened at 243 Main St. in Athol in the fall of 2020, after a nearly three-year approval process. Adedeji opened his first cannabis store in Eugene, Oregon, when he was 23 years old.

Adedeji was arrested in October 2022 for wanton and lascivious conduct, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct, open and gross lewdness, and disturbing the peace, according to documents from Orange District Court. In late January, however, the latter three charges were dismissed at the request of the state.

In late March, the state Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) suspended all retail activities at Elev8 following a number of incidents involving Adedeji. According to the suspension order, on Feb. 8, Elev8 submitted a renewal application for its final license that would expire on April 10. On Feb. 13, the commission’s licensing staff sent a request for information, followed by a second and a third, none of which received a response. On Feb. 17, the commission issued a Notice of Intent to Limit Sales of Marijuana and Marijuana Products to Elev8 due to substantial noncompliance with commission laws.

The commission identified 10 violations of regulations and mandated corrective action be taken by March 9. These included some staff members lacking required training. Around Feb. 17, Adedeji responded by dismissing those employees and promoting one of his staff members to serve as interim CEO. This person was terminated on March 14, and on that same day, all staff and managers at his Oregon store resigned in protest, the order stated. Adedeji informed the commission’s enforcement staff on March 22 that the Athol store had closed and was fully compliant with CCC regulations.

Then, on March 23, Adedeji posted a five-minute video to his Instagram account, saying the store was open and he was running it alone, according to the commission’s report. In the video, he can be seen standing outside Elev8 wearing shorts and no shirt. He said his business was open and went on a profanity-laced rant in which he threatened former employees and their families who cause problems for the business or walk onto the property without his permission.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.

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