Menominee County judge rules in favor of city in cannabis lawsuit

MENOMINEE, Mich. (WLUC) – A Menominee Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the city of Menominee in a lawsuit over the number of licensed dispensaries in the city.

Judge Mary Barglind made the ruling earlier this month, in a step toward resolving the city’s marijuana lawsuit.

In May 2023, Rize and The Fire Station sued the city, citing a “civil conspiracy” after the city amended its marijuana ordinance to allow more than two licensed dispensaries.

Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman says it’s time to move forward with marijuana in Menominee.

“I personally voted against bringing marijuana to the city of Menominee,” Hoffman said. “But now that it’s here, we need to treat all these companies fairly to avoid more lawsuits and lawsuits.”

The attorney representing Rize, Mike Cox, confirmed via email that he would appeal Menominee Circuit Court Judge Barglind’s decision.

TV6 will keep you informed about this.

The decision follows the city’s years-long effort to resolve a series of lawsuits against the city by local cannabis dispensaries.

A new lawsuit might have been avoided because the city council voted last week against an amendment that would require cannabis dispensaries to be located 300 meters away from residential homes. The vote was closed four to four and resolved by Hoffman.

He says if the amendment passes, all pharmacies in the city would be closed.

“Right now we have a lot of marijuana businesses in Menominee, and if we were to approve a zoning change of that nature, every single business would be out of compliance,” Hoffman said.

Last July, cannabis company Medfarms notified city officials of its intention to file a lawsuit.

After the vote, Medfarms project manager Shawn Dabish said the company will not file a lawsuit.

“In consideration of the Menominee City Council’s recent decision to maintain a free, open and competitive cannabis market, Medfarms is dropping all pending lawsuits against the City of Menominee,” Dabish said.

TV6 contacted councilors who supported the amendment but received no response.

Menominee will receive $295,000 in state tax money for opening five cannabis dispensaries last year.