[a fool in paradise]

You don’t have to be convicted to be denied such a license.

There are whiskey distillers who were in possession of stills with which they experimented before legalization. When they stepped forward to secure the paperwork they faced hassles.

Baker himself admits he was growing pot since age 13.

[NobleFree]

You don’t have to be convicted to be denied such a license.

There are whiskey distillers who were in possession of stills with which they experimented before legalization. When they stepped forward to secure the paperwork they faced hassles.

"Hassles" are not denial. Your story seems to be getting flexible.