Indecisive Niles Township voters have spoken. The response is a lawsuit — with potentially more to come.
More than 20 marijuana businesses announced plans to open in the community of nearly 15,000 residents after elected officials in April passed an ordinance allowing for an unlimited number of marijuana shops in the township.
Niles Township’s location along the Indiana border makes it highly desirable, due to the potential for significant sales to out-of-state customers.
Marijuana businesses began purchasing property, submitting applications and making plans. Growing concerns over the influx spurred a voter-led ballot initiative to ban all marijuana businesses in the township.
In November, 58% of Niles Township voters cast ballots to reverse course. They passed the ban.
The community has flip-flopped multiple times related to marijuana licensing.
In 2019, Niles Township officials passed an ordinance banning marijuana business. In 2022, voters rejected a ballot initiative to overturn that ban. In November 2024, about 52% of voters passed a ballot initiative to allow marijuana. The passage required the township issue a minimum of four retailer licenses.
With the ban in place, some businesses claim they’ve unfairly and illegally lost their investments.
Haze, a company that had plans to open two Niles Township locations, filed a lawsuit against the township in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Friday, Jan. 16.
The Haze lawsuit claims the township granted its two locations “conditional licenses” in June.
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