News and nuggets for cannabis industry practitioners in the Midwest and beyond.
Detroit cannabis licensure court case releases schedule: Trial set for September 2022.
Almost guaranteeing no adult-use cannabis licenses within the Detroit city limits for the foreseeable future, Federal District Court Judge Bernard Friedman in the Lowe v. City of Detroit court case over “Legacy” cannabis licenses, released a case schedule that would begin a jury trial on September 6, 2022 if litigants don’t come to an agreement before then.
In June, Judge Friedman agreed with plaintiff and River Rouge resident Crystal Lowe that Detroit’s proposed adult-use license system was unconstitutional and issued a restraining order, barring the city from favoring Detroit residents who had lived in the city at least 15 years, or “Legacy” Detroiters, as the city ordinance referred to them. Now, Detroit is contesting Judge Friedman’s order in a jury trial, arguing that the federal court has no standing to rule on the issue since Michigan’s cannabis industry is federally illegal, does not cross state boundaries, and thus has no impact on the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause.
When creating the city’s cannabis “Legacy” ordinance, city officials included an unusual poison pill clause that would nullify the entire law if a court struck down any portion of it. While the law has not been nullified yet, this lengthy court case seems to be having a similar effect on Detroit’s cannabis market.
Missouri releases 2020 cannabis report
Missouri cannabis regulators released their 2020 annual last week, trumpeting the state’s ability to roll out an operating program in less than two years after enactment, and is chock-a-block with various statistics on the program – as of December 2020.
[Read Missouri’s Medical Marijuana Regulatory Program 2020 Annual Report]
The report, which comes almost nine months after the end of the period studied, includes some interesting analysis, such as the number of dispensaries per capita in comparative states, the number of patient and caregiver applications by month, although it is from 2020 data.
