Largest Cannabis Operator in Michigan Loses Lawsuit Against Small Town Of Pinckney

Lume Cannabis Co., the largest single-state adult-use operator in the nation, opened its 31st store in Southfield, Michigan, marking its first in 2022 with plans for an additional 13 more.

“Lume is proud to call Michigan home, and our number one goal is to serve the cannabis needs of every Michigander, regardless of where they live,” said in December, Doug Hellyar, president and COO of Lume Cannabis. “We are proud to give back to the communities we serve by creating jobs and providing much-needed tax revenue to local municipalities to help fix roads, hire first responders and support local schools.”

In 2021, Lume opened 16 adult-use cannabis shops as part of its ambitious effort of having 100 adult-use stores open throughout Michigan by 2024.

Lume’s expansion plans included the Village of Pinckney, which initially opted out of the state cannabis program. After losing bidding for the only license available in town, Lume sued the Village of 2,500 people.

However, on Friday, Lume lost the suit.

“In Michigan, if a town chooses to limit its licenses it has to create a standard for scoring and ranking the applicants. Lume lost points for not presenting the Village with a clean energy plan and choosing not to operate its retail business in a vacant and distressed building,” reported Debora Borchardt for Green Market Report.

Although Lume argued that favoring local merchants was an illegitimate public purpose, the court said that local municipalities can make decisions of this kind.

According to the court, the lawsuit delayed the licensing process, and The Mean Project, the firm that was awarded the license and already invested USD 2.2 million to open its dispensary.

The judge wrote, “without a viable MRTMA claim, Lume’s case goes up in smoke.”

Photo via WHMI 93.5.