Let Lansing Vote drops lawsuit that challenged city's medical marijuana ordinance

Sarah Lehr | Lansing State Journal

LANSING — A pro-marijuana group called Let Lansing Vote has dropped a lawsuit that challenged the city's medical marijuana ordinance.

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice after Let Lansing Vote moved Wednesday to withdraw the lawsuit.

Let Lansing Vote filed the lawsuit in October 2017 against City Clerk Chris Swope, arguing Swope had erroneously rejected a Let Lansing Vote petition.

The petition would have forced City Council either to repeal its 2017 medical ordinance or to bring the issue before voters.

Let Lansing Vote members argued the ordinance, which outlined a licensing process for medical marijuana businesses and set a citywide cap on the number of authorized dispensaries, was too restrictive.

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Lansing City Attorney Jim Smiertka said the case's conclusion is a clear indication that Lansing's medical marijuana ordinance will stand.

"It's over. Period," Smiertka said. "The cloud has been removed. There's a little more certainty. I'm sure a lot of the applicants for licenses are pleased."

The dismissal did not involve a settlement, financial or otherwise, Smiertka said.

James Adkins, an attorney for Let Lansing Vote, declined to say why his clients had dropped their lawsuit. Adkins confirmed the group did not reach a settlement with the city.

The city attorney said he had "no idea" why Let Lansing Vote moved for dismissal.

"It was a surprise," Smiertka said.

In February, Judge Jamo denied the city's request to dismiss the case. The city asked to appeal that denial in the Michigan Court of Appeals, but that request for appeal was also denied.

"I think this leaves us where need to be in order to follow the rules to create a well-regulated industry," Swope said of the lawsuit's resolution. "We can continue to go through the licensing process without some of these questions swirling around."

While the lawsuit was ongoing, city officials had pledged to continue enforcing the ordinance despite the litigation. However, attorneys for the city had argued in court that a ruling in favor of Let Lansing Vote would have disrupted Lansing's medical marijuana industry, hindering patient access.

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The controversial ordinance, which City Council approved via a 5-3 vote last September, limited the number of licenses for dispensaries, also known as provisioning centers, at 25 citywide. It did not set a cap on other categories of medical marijuana businesses, which are safety compliance, secure transport, grower and processor facilities.

Let Lansing Vote members had asked City Council to eliminate or raise the dispensary cap.

"We're happy we're not being sued anymore and we're going to continue to enforce the ordinance," Lansing Mayor Andy Schor said Thursday.

The Lansing City Clerk's office, with the help of several other city agencies and an outside consulting firm, is in the process of reviewing dispensary applications.

The city clerk has yet to grant a dispensary license, and it's unclear when that will happen. Swope declined to give a time estimate.

The city has granted preliminary approval to 14 grow facilities, one safety compliance facility and one secure transporter facility.

Grow facilities will need to pass final city inspections once cultivation equipment is installed, Swope said.

To operate legally in Lansing, medical marijuana facilities will eventually need licenses from both the city and the state of Michigan. The state issued its first round of medical marijuana business licenses Thursday.

That included a state license awarded to Capital Transport LLC, a Lansing-based facility that would be licensed to transport medical marijuana between growers, processors and dispensaries. Capital Transport had already received conditional approval from the city to operate at Rensen Street just north of East Jolly Road.

Kevin McQuinn, a managing partner at Capital Transport, said the business plans to hire at least 10 full-time employees. The business will use about five vans to transport medical marijuana across the state, he said.

Contact Sarah Lehr at (517) 377-1056 or slehr@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahGLehr.