Jacob Bell
New Member
Billings, MT--Medical marijuana providers have filed a lawsuit against the city of Billings, seeking to overturn a July 1 emergency ordinance banning storefront operations.
A lawsuit filed by William M. Reid and three John Does argues that the 16 storefront business operating at the time did not constitute an emergency.
They assert that the emergency ban was used to circumvent normal procedures in adopting an ordinance, which would include two public hearings 14 days apart. The plaintiffs, represented by attorney Chris Lindsey, argue that the City Council's actions violated their rights to due process of law and their rights to engage in business activity.
City Council members had been debating a ban on storefronts since the 2011 Legislature passed Senate Bill 423, which imposed such stringent restrictions that medical marijuana businesses were no longer viable.
A lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the law resulted in a judge striking key provisions of the legislation. But the judge left intact a section of the law that authorized local governments to prohibit storefront sales.
At its next meeting, after listening to an hour of sometimes contentious public testimony, the council passed the emergency ban.
Medical marijuana has long been a controversy at the local level. Councilman Vince Ruegamer estimated that the council had heard 40 hours of public testimony on the issue.
The lawsuit alleges that there was no emergency as defined by city codes. It said "emergencies are medical, law enforcement emergencies or urgent matters created as a result of fires, floods or natural disasters. Uniformly, an emergency is a serious unexpected and often dangerous situation."
Council members did not even know how many storefronts were operating at the time, the lawsuit said, noting that just 16 were still in business.
"Quite simply, the City Council has labeled this matter an emergency in order to shorten the time and effort to create an ordinance and in so doing, it has denied the plaintiffs as well as citizens of Billings their procedural due process guarantees," the complaint said.
The case has been assigned to District Judge Gregory Todd.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: billingsgazette.com
Author: Lorna Thackeray
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Billings Gazette
Website: Providers challenge council ban on marijuana storefronts
A lawsuit filed by William M. Reid and three John Does argues that the 16 storefront business operating at the time did not constitute an emergency.
They assert that the emergency ban was used to circumvent normal procedures in adopting an ordinance, which would include two public hearings 14 days apart. The plaintiffs, represented by attorney Chris Lindsey, argue that the City Council's actions violated their rights to due process of law and their rights to engage in business activity.
City Council members had been debating a ban on storefronts since the 2011 Legislature passed Senate Bill 423, which imposed such stringent restrictions that medical marijuana businesses were no longer viable.
A lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of the law resulted in a judge striking key provisions of the legislation. But the judge left intact a section of the law that authorized local governments to prohibit storefront sales.
At its next meeting, after listening to an hour of sometimes contentious public testimony, the council passed the emergency ban.
Medical marijuana has long been a controversy at the local level. Councilman Vince Ruegamer estimated that the council had heard 40 hours of public testimony on the issue.
The lawsuit alleges that there was no emergency as defined by city codes. It said "emergencies are medical, law enforcement emergencies or urgent matters created as a result of fires, floods or natural disasters. Uniformly, an emergency is a serious unexpected and often dangerous situation."
Council members did not even know how many storefronts were operating at the time, the lawsuit said, noting that just 16 were still in business.
"Quite simply, the City Council has labeled this matter an emergency in order to shorten the time and effort to create an ordinance and in so doing, it has denied the plaintiffs as well as citizens of Billings their procedural due process guarantees," the complaint said.
The case has been assigned to District Judge Gregory Todd.
News Hawk- Jacob Ebel 420 MAGAZINE
Source: billingsgazette.com
Author: Lorna Thackeray
Contact: Contact Us
Copyright: The Billings Gazette
Website: Providers challenge council ban on marijuana storefronts
