Nov. 3: Menominee, Mich., voters decide whether to raise the city's cap on marijuana stores from 9 to 13

Voters in Menominee, Michigan, will decide on Tuesday, Nov. 3, whether the city should raise its cap on marijuana retail stores from nine to 13, the latest turn in a licensing fight that has produced two earlier elections, several lawsuits and a string of court rulings, according to the Marinette-Menominee EagleHerald.

The question appears on the city ballot as an initiated ordinance under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act. Its official wording, as reported by WLUK-TV (FOX 11) and published by the nonprofit voter guide VoterDecoder, asks whether to amend Section 11.3 of the Menominee Code of Ordinances "to provide for no more than thirteen (13) marihuana retail establishments to be allowed within the city limits." A yes vote adopts the amendment and sets the limit at 13; a no vote leaves the current cap in place.

What the vote would change

Menominee currently has eight licensed marijuana retailers in operation, and a court ruling has left one more license available under the existing cap of nine, the EagleHerald reported on Nov. 1. In July, the paper listed the eight open stores as The Fire Station, Higher Love, Lume, Elevated Exotics, Rize, Green Pharm, The Quid Shop and Nirvana.

Several other companies say they are ready to open. The EagleHerald reported in September that Puff Cannabis, Highwire Farms and Urb were prepared to open but could not get the city's approval, and that all three had filed lawsuits against Menominee. Supporters of the ballot question say four stores, most notably Puff Cannabis and Highwire Farms, deserve licenses because they followed the city's rules and are close to opening, according to the paper's Nov. 1 report.

MLive has reported that Menominee's location on the Wisconsin border, where many of its marijuana customers come from, has made it one of Michigan's most sought-after cannabis markets.

How the city got here

The current cap comes from a 2025 voter initiative backed by a group called Defending Menominee. According to the EagleHerald, about 85% of voters favored limiting licenses to nine in an August 2025 election, but that vote was found to be invalid, so a second vote was held in November 2025. In that election, the ordinance amendment passed with 78% of the vote, 1,429 to 402. About 27% of the city's 7,040 registered voters, or 1,867 people, went to the polls, the paper reported.

The fight over who gets licensed goes back further. MLive reported that in 2023 the city reached a settlement with five marijuana businesses that had sued over flaws in its licensing process. Although that lawsuit was ultimately dismissed and the city's licensing system was upheld, the City Council approved a settlement that gave six businesses, including Highwire Farms, preferential licensing commitments. In return, the settling businesses agreed to cover future legal expenses from any later challenges to the agreement or changes to the ordinance, according to MLive.

Puff Cannabis received conditional approval to open a Menominee store in 2024 and spent nearly $2 million buying and renovating property, MLive reported. Puff and three other marijuana companies that later joined its case sued the city in fall 2025 over the right to open, but that lawsuit was dismissed. Two companies that had joined the Puff case, JGB Holdings and an affiliate, 1101 7th Menominee, filed a new federal lawsuit against the city on July 10, 2026, seeking a court order guaranteeing them the final license, according to MLive. That suit alleges the city unlawfully required company representatives to sign a waiver giving up their right to sue before their project could move forward, and says the company spent $1.75 million on property. Those are allegations in a lawsuit, not findings by a court.

The court rulings

A temporary injunction issued in September 2025 blocked the city from issuing any more retail licenses. On July 17, 2026, Michigan 41st Circuit Court Judge Mary B. Barglind lifted it, according to the EagleHerald and MLive. In that ruling, Barglind declared that the Nov. 4, 2025, election was "valid and binding" and denied Defending Menominee's request for a permanent injunction, the EagleHerald reported. She did not decide who should receive the ninth license, leaving that to the city.

The ballot question that voters will see Tuesday was organized by a committee called Yes, Menominee, which gathered more than double the required number of petition signatures, according to the EagleHerald and WLUK. A group called Menominee's Not For Sale asked the court to remove the question from the ballot, arguing the petition did not meet state legal requirements. On Sept. 21, Barglind denied that motion. In her three-page opinion, quoted by both outlets, she wrote that "the petitions are compliant with statutory requirements" and with "the format for Petitions recommended by the Michigan Elections Bureau and the Bureau of Elections' Petitions Manual."

What supporters say

Puff owner Nick Hannawa told the EagleHerald he is optimistic heading into Tuesday. "We feel confident that people are tired of all this chaos in Menominee; tired of all these lawsuits in Menominee; and tired of all these unfair business practices in Menominee," he said.

Hannawa told the paper that he has offered to settle with the city "multiple times for zero damages" if it would give him a license. He also said that if the referendum fails, Puff will keep fighting through the appeals process. Jennifer Green, a lead attorney for Puff, said any lawsuit seeking lost profits is in the Court of Appeals and that other companies seeking licenses are involved in that litigation. "Right now, the litigation can't be resolved because the city won't negotiate with anyone and they won't settle and they won't give a license," she said.

Hannawa and Green both told the EagleHerald that some referendum opponents, including two council members, are telling residents they would not have to pay a judgment if the city loses in court. "The way that cities have to pay (a judgment) is they have to raise taxes," Green said. Both also said Lume is sending out flyers saying the referendum calls for unlimited marijuana shops; the ballot language sets a limit of 13.

The EagleHerald also reported that the attorney for Defending Menominee, Kevin Blair, also represents Lume Cannabis, and that Puff has a separate lawsuit against Lume with a hearing scheduled for Monday afternoon, Nov. 2, in Menominee County Circuit Court.

What opponents say

Opponents of the referendum say Menominee voters have already spoken by voting twice in 2025 to cap the number of stores at nine, according to the EagleHerald. The sources reviewed for this report did not include a direct statement from Lume or from the Defending Menominee or Menominee's Not For Sale committees about Tuesday's vote.

Councilwoman Cheryl Haupt, speaking on a local radio show, said taxes in the city will go up regardless of how people vote on the marijuana licenses, citing inflation as one reason, the EagleHerald reported. Asked whether the city has spent $750,000 on marijuana-related lawsuits, she said she had no idea where that number came from. "I don't think that's real at all," she said.

Why it matters

The question was filed under Michigan's adult-use marijuana law, the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act. Menominee's case shows how those local choices can become years-long legal disputes, with business investments, settlement agreements and voter initiatives pulling in different directions. Elevated Exotics owner Nilsson Davis, whose store is already open, told WLUC-TV in September that the question "should go however the voters vote."

What happens next

Menominee voters decide the question on Nov. 3. If it passes, the city's cap would rise to 13 retail establishments. If it fails, the cap stays at nine, and the dispute over the ninth license, along with the pending lawsuits and appeals described above, continues in the courts. Hemp Law Watch will report the result once it is available.

This report is for news purposes only and is not legal advice.