Court ruling allows Menominee marijuana dispensaries to remain open

MENOMINEE, Mich. (WLUC) - A court decision Wednesday officially dissolved a temporary restraining order that closed three cannabis retailers in Menominee earlier this month.

Higher Love, Lume and Nirvana will keep their Menominee stores open thanks to a ruling by 41st Circuit Court Judge Mary Barglind. We previously told you about a temporary restraining order that closed the cannabis companies on Nov. 3.

On Monday, Barglind allowed the stores to reopen after the city asked the judge to clarify her order. Wednesday, Barlglind dissolved the order completely.

“What this case is not is an expression of whether the decision to uncap marijuana licenses is right or wrong for Menominee. That’s not in my jurisdiction. That’s not my decision. That’s not what this case is about,” Barglind said.

Kevin Blair, Lume’s attorney said in a statement: “We applaud the judge for the decision that allows Lume to stay open and gives some peace of mind to Lume employees.”

RizeUP and the Fire Station had remained open, as they were the two marijuana retailers originally granted permits by the city. This ongoing back and forth in the court stems from how the city decided to permit more dispensaries.

Mike Cox, the attorney for RizeUP, says Wednesday’s decision does not change the lawsuit against the City of Menominee.

“Really all we want is the rules enforced right,” Cox said. “We just want Rize and Fire Station at the same rules that apply to others applied to us. That hasn’t been the case. The city council has burdened us with obligations that the other competitors don’t have and also, I don’t speak for the committee, but the committee want the opportunity to vote on marijuana policy in Menominee.”

While this temporary injunction has been dissolved, there will still be a civil trial in May or June over what Rize and Fire Station believes is wrongdoing in the city’s license approval process.

Last published: Nov 15, 2023 3:12:29 PM

A court decision Wednesday officially dissolved a temporary restraining order that temporarily closed three cannabis retailers in Menominee earlier this month.

The ruling by Menominee County Circuit Court Judge Mary Barglind allows Higher Love, Lume and Nirvana to continue operating stores in Menominee. As TV6 reported, they had been closed from Nov. 3-13 under a previous decision.

“We applaud the judge for the decision that allows Lume to stay open and gives some peace of mind to Lume employees,” said Kevin Blair, Lume’s attorney, in a statement.

Rize and The Fire Station were able to remain open as they were the two marijuana retailers originally granted permits by the city. Menominee has faced a wave of lawsuits over how it decided to expand its number of licenses.

The temporary restraining order that closed the cannabis companies went into effect Nov. 3. On Monday, Barglind allowed the stores to reopen in response to a motion filed by the city of Menominee asking her to clarify her Nov. 3 order.

TV6′s Justin Van’t Hof was in court Wednesday. This developing story will be updated with more reaction to the ruling.