Detroit, Michigan has announced that it plans to file a lawsuit that challenges two voter-approved marijuana initiatives that were approved by 60% of voters last November and brought forth by Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform.
The two initiatives do the following: “eliminate the authority of the city Board of Zoning Appeals to review dispensary applications; allow dispensaries to open within 500 feet of another dispensary; allow dispensaries to open within 500 feet of religious institutions, and eliminate the requirement that the city hold public hearings and solicit public comment on proposals to open dispensaries.”
Wayne County Circuit Court Chief Judge Robert Colombo Jr. dismissed two cases Friday that sought to overturn the initiatives but allowed the city to move forward with its own lawsuit against Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform.
“The case has now shifted to where the city is the plaintiff and the Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform are the defendants,” said spokesman for the group Johnathan Barlow. The ironic part about that now is the city is now taking the official position … of attempting to derail and deny the fact that the voters want something different. It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”
