Christine Ferretti

The Detroit News

Detroit — A Wayne County Circuit Judge on Friday granted a temporary restraining order sought by 10 medical marijuana dispensaries that are challenging a new city law that regulates where they can locate.

Judge Daphne Means Curtis approved the 14-day restraining order following a Friday hearing on the request. Attorneys for the city and the centers are slated to return to court on April 13.

The complaint, filed Thursday, asked the court to halt the city from taking any action related to the new zoning ordinance. The rules, they contend, “unlawfully” prevent the shop operators, who are pre-existing primary caregivers licensed by the state, from providing medical marijuana to qualifying patients with “debilitating medical conditions.”

The law went into effect on March 1 after the City Council approved a pair of controversial ordinances that regulate where and how so-called pot shops can operate in Detroit. On the same day, an application went live on the city’s website for shops seeking to run legally under the city’s rules.

The filing contends the shops — all located within areas considered to be drug-free zones — were turned down outright by the city after submitting applications and provided with no means to appeal. The zoning law, the motion claims, interferes with the legal rights of the shop operators to their serve patients.

The shops formerly held valid permits, but not for medical marijuana use, since the category wasn’t created until the law went into effect, officials said.

The plaintiffs further contend that the regulation violates their constitutional rights, the centers opened prior to the city’s adoption of its zoning law and should be grandfathered in.

But Detroit Corporation Counsel Melvin Butch Hollowell dismissed the claims, saying that the city adopted a lawful ordinance that will allow for approximately 50 Medical Marihuana Caregiver Centers in various locations in the city.

“The court’s ruling today is fundamentally disconnected from the law and the facts since the Plaintiffs’ 10 medical marihuana facilities are all in Drug Free Zones which are per se illegal operations under federal, state, and city statutes,” Hollowell said in a released statement. “It is indefensible that the court is allowing these facilities to operate next to schools, churches and parks when other appropriate locations are available. We will vigorously pursue all options for a swift reversal of this order.”

The federal Drug Free School Zone Act prevents the drug from being delivered, sold or manufactured within 1,000 feet of a school. State law also factors libraries into the rule. The city’s zoning regulations cover educational institutions and goes beyond that, prohibiting shops from operating near child care centers, arcades and outdoor recreation facilities.

Timothy A. Stoepker, an attorney representing the dispensaries, declined comment on Friday.

The city in February put the 200-plus shops that had been operating in Detroit without restriction on notice that they would have to meet the newly adopted requirements or face closure.

About 195 applications overall have been submitted.

cferretti@detroitnews.com