The case against the Village of Pinckney alleging residency discrimination in marijuana licensing criteria has concluded with a judgment in the Village’s favor. Attitude Wellness — also known as Lume — had alleged that it should have been awarded the village’s sole retail license and that the rubric used by the village to score applicants violated various commerce laws and MRTMA (Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act).
The Village awarded the retail license to The Means Project, which is based in Howell, on the basis of a rubric it used to determine suitability. The proposals were scored on sections including application completeness, business plan, environmental plans, owner residency, and use of vacant or blighted buildings, among other criteria.
Attitude Wellness /Lume scored last of the three applications under consideration, lacking points in local business owner residency, environmental plan, and use of a vacant or blighted building.
U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin A. Drain disagreed with the arguments presented by Attitude Wellness/Lume that the residency portion of the rubric was discriminatory, and ruled in favor of the Village of Pinckney and The Means Project, which had intervened in the case as an affected party.
Judge Drain pointed out that even if the village dropped the residency points, Attitude Wellness/Lume would not have overtaken the application submitted by The Means Project. His ruling states, in part: “Without a viable MRTMA claim, Lume’s case goes up in smoke… No matter how much the Matrix runs afoul to the dormant Commerce Clause, no viable claim exists because Lume failed to obtain enough lawful points under the Matrix.”
“It’s a bit of a victory for small communities and small business,” says Pinckney Village President Rebecca Foster. “Attitude Wellness is a large corporation with multiple retail locations, but that doesn’t always mean it’s the best fit.
“We are very happy with the outcome of the case, and the confirmation that local units can craft marijuana application scoring rubrics using criteria important to the community — and that this does not, as Attitude Wellness argued, violate MRTMA.
The ruling, Foster said, is an even bigger victory for The Means Project, which has spent a reported $2.2 million in rehabbing the former Pinckney Elementary, which had fallen into disrepair and blight.
“They are free to move forward as quickly as they can now without this court case hanging over the process,” Foster said.
Judge Drain’s complete order and opinion is below.
45 – ORDER and OPINION denying PI, granting Means MTD – 4.7.2022
