CAN THEY MOVE?

A Lansing Dispensary Owner Is Standing Her Ground After Moving to A
New Location During the Moratorium, Even After a Warning From Lansing
Police. Meanwhile, the City Attorney Is Silent.

Medical marijuana dispensary owner Sharess Witherell has a lot of
questions for the city of Lansing:

Who sent a plainclothes police officer to her business, Great Lakes
Superior, 633 E. Jolly Road, on May 31 to tell her she was violating
the city's moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries?

Who complained to the city in the first place?

And above all, where in the ordinance does it say she could not move
during the moratorium?

For 5 days, starting June 3, City Pulse tried to reach the city
attorney, Brigham Smith, for answers, with no luck. A reporter was in
the same room with him - the City Council chambers - but Smith managed
to elude him. Nor did Smith return phone calls or text messages - or
see the reporter in person when he spent four hours waiting in Smith's
reception area on Tuesday. At least part of that time, Smith was in
his office, the receptionist said.

The issue isn't a new one. At the beginning of the moratorium, one
businessman told City Pulse he wanted to move but couldn't because
Smith said businesses couldn't. Another dispensary owner said he
closed down rather than fight Smith when he had to move because of
landlord problems.

It begs the question: Why is the city attorney seemingly unwilling to
defend to the public an ordinance his office wrote? And will he pursue
charges against the dispensary because it refuses to move?

Others have answered some questions, but not Smith.

Witherell, who is 37 and owns Great Lakes Superior, moved her medical
marijuana dispensary May 23 from 5812 S. Cedar St. to Jolly Road -
exactly one mile by car - because the lease ran out at her old
location and she said she was having problems with her landlord.
Witherell was also privy to the city's moratorium on medical marijuana
dispensaries that the City Council adopted Dec. 6, but she moved
anyway because she said the ordinance does not explicitly say
businesses can't move.

"We knew about the moratorium. Nothing in their wording says anything
about relocation," Witherell said in an interview. She later said in a
statement: "We moved because of the extenuating circumstances with our
Landlord and handicap accessability (sic), not just because we wanted
to, but had to and it was never an intent to maliciously violate any
ordinaces (sic) made by the city."

This is as far as the moratorium language goes: "There shall be a
rebuttable presumption that any medical marihuana establishment not
listed in this section was not operating on the effective date of this
ordinance. Medical marihuana establishments recognized by the city as
being in operation prior to the effective date of this ordinance are:
." And then it goes on to list 47 addresses with names of
businesses. Some businesses have multiple addresses, or the same
address has multiple businesses. Great Lakes is listed at 5812-D S.
Cedar St.

Eight days after Great Lakes moved, a Lansing police detective walked
into the new location and advised an employee that the business was
violating the city ordinance and would have to shut down, Witherell
said.

City Clerk Chris Swope had informed the police.

"Another medical marijuana supplier called me and tipped me off (about
Great Lakes moving) and said, 'How did they move?" And I said they
aren't allowed to," Swope said. He added that he's "getting my advice"
from Smith and would not say who tipped him off.

Lansing police Lt. Noel Garcia confirmed Tuesday that Detective Chris
Devlin visited Great Lakes on May 31. Garcia said Swope e-mailed
Police Chief Teresa Szymanski asking to investigate the tip and
Szymanski sent Devlin to confirm.

"There was no enforcement there," Garcia said, adding that there may
never be because the moratorium expires July 1 and the City Council is
planning to adopt a permanent regulation ordinance by then. "We don't
foresee any need for enforcement right now. This temporary moratorium
is not a priority for us right now. There's a new ordinance in the
works. Until that comes out, really we don't know what our role will
be."

Witherell's attorney, Matt Newburg, said Friday that he was trying to
get in touch with Smith regarding the issue.

"The (moratorium) language does not say that in there (that businesses
can't move). I'm trying to figure out what their (the city's) stance
is," Newburg said. "I don't have enough information right now to say
whether a lawsuit is going to be filed or not."

Newburg could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

This isn't the first time a dispensary has moved during the moratorium
because of landlord issues. Todd Holforty moved his business, the
Michigan Medical Marijuana Club, in mid-December from 3203 N. East St.
to 6046 S. Cedar St. Before the Council adopting a revised moratorium
on April 18, Holforty told City Pulse that he would go to court
because "I don't think they have anything to stand on" if the city
excluded the club from the revised moratorium.

The city did not include Holforty's club in the revised moratorium.
However, once the revised moratorium passed, Holforty decided to shut
down until a permanent regulation ordinance is passed because "we
didn't think it would be cost effective. Fighting the city can be
quite expensive."

Holforty said he made the choice on his own accord and was not
pressured by the city.

Smith told City Pulse in late March that: "The whole point (of the
moratorium) is to freeze the status quo."

City Council members Carol Wood and A'Lynne Robinson, who each sit on
the Public Safety Committee, which is working on the permanent
ordinance, said they are following Smith's advice that businesses are
not to move. But At-Large Councilwoman Kathie Dunbar said she thought
the moratorium "was on the number, not the location (of
dispensaries)."

"If a business is forced to relocate because of a rental situation, I
don't think they should be penalized. It's not like they're
expanding," she said. "I'll have to check with (Smith) to see his
rationale on that."

Rich Carl, owner of Green Cross compassion club, said it's a "bummer
deal" that Great Lakes was having landlord issues, but that he was
under the impression businesses couldn't move. He wonders if Smith is
using stall tactics until the moratorium expires, a permanent
regulation ordinance is adopted and this story is a non-issue.

"Maybe he (Smith) is just stonewalling you until the moratorium
passes."