Menominee marijuana dispute continues over store ready to open

MENOMINEE, MICH. – The weeks between the Nov. 4 election and the Jan. 5 swearing-in ceremony for newly elected Menominee City Council members have been filled with frustration for Jennifer Green — the attorney representing Puff Cannabis Co., a marijuana retailer about to open a store in July, just before a controversy over a cap on marijuana stores put a halt to its store opening.

“The city has trampled my client’s legal rights,” Green said. An injunction on Puff’s store opening is costing the company an estimated $3 million to $4 million per month, she said.

Menominee City Council members and other community leaders have expressed concerns that ongoing litigation over marijuana stores is likely to continue. It’s keeping the council from considering other ways to improve the city, said First Ward Council Member Michael DeDamos who won re-election in a close vote.

He had campaigned on a marijuana-store cap, throwing into question how the city will make good on its approval of a marijuana license for Puff.

Second Ward Council Member Bill Plemel regarded marijuana stores as an engine for economic development, but he also is concerned about ongoing litigation.

“I don’t really know where this is headed,” Plemel said.

Plemel — who wasn’t on the ballot as the council has staggered terms — sued the city over an August marijuana ballot because the election didn’t include a single candidate.

Michigan state law requires at least one candidate for an election to be valid. Menominee County Judge Mary Barglind agreed with Plemel and his attorney and ordered a re-do of the marijuana ballot on the Nov. 4 election. The results supported a nine-store limit.

“The only way for the litigation to end is to let us open,” Green said.
“Then we don’t have to fight about the ballot initiative. Fix the nail and this litigation goes away,” she said.

Green said by investing $1 million, Puff turned a blighted building into an asset.

It will be a retail store with an elevated customer experience, she explained.
“I understand the citizens are fed up and don’t want more cannabis in the city. But over time, [the stores are] going to close. As the mayor said, let’s just let natural attrition solve the problem,” Green said.

Now Green is questioning the validity of the Nov. 4 marijuana ballot, pointing out it didn’t meet a local code requiring at least five local signatures for the ballot to be allowed. Green said organizers from Lansing petitioned for the marijuana ballot to be put to voters.

Puff’s July opening was delayed when the city inspector didn’t show up for a building inspection, Green said. Barglind postponed the store opening until after the Nov. 4 election by issuing an injunction.

With the results of the Nov. 4 election indicating a majority of voters in a low-turnout election wanted the nine-store limit, the city hasn’t yet allowed the ninth retailer Puff to open. Others might say Highwire Farms should be allowed to save its spot, as it had received a license to open a store at 10th and 10th before Puff entered the scene. Highwire hasn’t acted on the license yet, sources said.

Green said the city’s tactics prevented the Puff store from opening on schedule, costing the small business big money. She said the company had moved four people up to the Upper Peninsula to work in the new store.

In April, Puff had received city manager Brett Botbyl’s approval to proceed with its plans to open a store at 2305 10th St. in the former Video Adventure building near the city’s administrative building, she said.

On Nov. 4, Menominee voters had a second chance to voice their opinions, but many stayed home. About 27% of the city’s roughly 7,000 registered voters cast votes, according to election data published on Menominee County’s website. In comparison, about 62% of registered voters in Menominee County cast ballots in the U.S. presidential race in the November 2024 general election.
In raw numbers, 1,429 of 1,831 votes cast favored a limit of nine stores, about even with 1,416 “yes” votes in the invalidated Aug. 4 election, while most of the roughly 200 incremental voters Nov. 4 opposed the limit — with 402 “no” votes to the limit in November, up from 242 in August.

In early December, Green sent a letter to Menominee Mayor Casey Hoffman alleging Lume Cannabis Co., a director competitor, was the force behind the marijuana ballot and Puff’s delayed opening.

Lume’s attorney Kevin Blair denied being involved with the ballot initiative.
Blair represented Defending Menominee, a nonprofit based in Lansing, in front of Judge Mary Barglind when she invalidated the August election and ordered a redo in November. Blair also has served as Lume Cannabis’ attorney.

In an email in response to a reporter’s request for information about the relationship between Defending Menominee and Lume, he said there was none.

He denied he was a force behind the marijuana ballot, calling it “unfair and inaccurate.”

Prior to the election, Puff had received a license sent via email from the city manager in December 2025, and it also received other necessary approvals, she said.

While Plemel and DeDamos said they were uncertain what the city’s next move would be, both expected Puff to file a lawsuit if prevented from opening.

“Puff is going to sue the city and they’re going to win. That’s my guess,” Plemel said.

“It would be nice to find a fair solution to the problem, but it may not be possible. We’re going to have to take it before the judge,” DeDamos said.

Green told a reporter on Dec. 14 she was preparing a new legal brief with a different approach.

“When the cap occurred, we would argue that factually creates a circumstance where we have to update our complaint,” she said.