Lawsuit To Stop Cities From Banning Marijuana

Tomorrow our cannabis lawyers will be in Chelan County Superior Court arguing to stop the City of Wenatchee from banning marijuana dispensaries within its city limits.

To grossly summarize, our position is that because Washington voters chose to legalize marijuana throughout the entire state, no city should be able to override that vote. In other words, all we are asking is that the vote of the people be honored. Far too many cities in Washington and in other states that have legalized recreational or medical cannabis are of the view that they know best and that they are not bound by state law. Our goal is to use this lawsuit to advance the cause of legalization both in Washington and in other states, by shutting down the alleged right of these cities to subvert state-wide legalization votes.

Though the laws of each state vary, we are making a copy of the brief we filed in this case available so as to help lawyers in other states (particularly states other than Washington, Alaska, California, Florida, Illinois, Nevada, New York, Oregon where we have our own licensed lawyers) to pursue similar cases, should such a case make sense.

If you want to learn more about the importance of tomorrow’s hearing, we suggest you read some or all of the articles below:

• With Marijuana Legalized, a City in Washington State Says, “Not So Fast” (New York Times)
• Wenatchee lawsuit could make or break state’s pot law (Seattle Times)
• Washington city sued over its ban on marijuana businesses (Aljazeera America)
• We’ve Sued Wenatchee Over Its Cannabis Ban Because The Voters Should Decide (Canna Law Blog)
• The First Battle (Pacific Northwest Inlander)
• Pot Shop Hopeful Sues Wenatchee Over Ban (CBS News)
• Marijuana Businessperson Sues Wenatchee for Right to Open Retail Store (National Public Radio interview with Hilary Bricken, our lawyer who will be arguing the case today)
• One-Quarter Of Washington’s Towns Still Ban Marijuana (Huffington Post)
• Showdown Over Wenatchee’s Pot Business Ban Could Have Statewide Consequences (NPR)

Oh, and please wish us well in this fight.