Cannabis ballot initiative brings lawsuit to Menominee

MENOMINEE, Mich. (WLUC) - Voters in Menominee will decide on whether to limit the amount of cannabis dispensaries in their city.

A new ballot initiative proposes capping dispensaries at nine.

Menominee City Mayor Casey Hoffman says industry competition will decide on who can sell cannabis in the city.

“The first time a dispensary closes, the city of Menominee will not issue another license,” Hoffman said. “And we will continue a reduction through attrition policy, until we reach nine dispensaries as approved by the voters this election season.”

But when voters will be able to make this decision is up in the air.

Last week, Menominee City Councilman William Plemel filed a lawsuit against the city to push the initiative to the November ballot.

Plemel argues, under Michigan law, ballot initiatives cannot be voted on unless there are candidates on that ballot.

He says moving the ballot initiative to November would save the city money.

“I do have thoughts about the proposal, but that’s not what started this,” Plemel said. “It’s in violation of state law, as far as I know. We shouldn’t have an election, it’s going to cost the city a bunch of money, and it’s probably not going to stand anyway. Everybody’s going to have a chance to vote on this come November.”

Regardless of when the proposal comes to voters, Hoffman hopes this could bring a finality to the city’s marijuana saga.

“I think limiting the number of dispensaries to nine is the beginning of the end,” Hoffman said. “We will see the amount of dispensaries go up before they go down, but really what we need is approval from the voters.”

Plemel’s lawsuit will go to a hearing Friday.

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