Both sides seeking to put end to medical marijuana suit before trial

Lawyers on both sides of the first medical marijuana lawsuit filed against the city of Lansing want a judge to rule in their favor in an effort to end the case before it reaches trial.

Attorneys representing the city don't believe TNT Industries LLC, a now-closed medical marijuana dispensary on East Michigan Avenue, has the legal standing necessary to challenge the municipality in court.

TNT in September asked Ingham County Circuit Judge Paula Manderfield to find its business in compliance with state law, force the city to return its operating license — even though it never received one — and award it monetary damages.

The case stems from a Michigan Court of Appeals panel's ruling this summer that patient-to-patient sales of marijuana are illegal under the 2008 voter-approved medical marijuana law. Lansing administrators halted a plan to administer business licenses after City Attorney Brig Smith advised dispensaries to close up shop.

Edwar Zeineh, a Lansing attorney representing TNT Industries, wants a court to determine the city was wrong to deny dispensaries the ability to operate, especially after they paid $1,000 application fees that are now to be returned.

TNT's lawsuit doesn't have the potential to set precedent as much as another case pending in a higher court — a challenge to the Michigan appeals court ruling that essentially invalidated dispensaries.

The Michigan Supreme Court has not yet decided whether to hear that case, which involves a dispensary in Isabella County. But local attorneys believe it has statewide implications that could make it a prime candidate.

Manderfield has yet to issue a written opinion. Her staff said the case remains under review.

At issue is this: Does the dispensary have the grounds to sue on behalf of a business license it never received? And if so, is the city of Lansing the appropriate entity?

"They say we don't have standing. We say we sure do," Zeineh said. "They're arguing procedure. We're arguing substance."

Zeineh said dispensaries, particularly TNT, are looking for clarity on how they can operate under a voter initiative that is supposed to protect them from prosecution. TNT is compensated for distributing marijuana but Zeineh has argued the business does not sell it but rather accepts a "modest fee" for preparing it for patients' use.