John Schroyer
A northern Michigan town revoked a dispensary license for one local location of a small chain of cannabis shops just 11 days after the new store opened for business, over what town officials say is noncompliant outdoor lighting.
The store – located in the town of Gaylord, population 4,000 – is owned and run by Exclusive Brands. It was the company’s eighth shop in the state, but its business permit was unexpectedly yanked on March 28 by Gaylord officials, Mlive.com reported.
Gaylord City Attorney Paul Slough said the crucial issue was “noncompliant lighting” at the store, though he also said there were ordinance violations by the retailer at its grand opening on March 17, including an unauthorized tent in the parking lot, a banner that included the word “cannabis,” and unauthorized curbside delivery for customers.
Exclusive Brands’ chief development officer, Narmin Jarrous, said she was caught off guard by the revocation letter because she’d been under the impression the lighting issue had been addressed at a city council meeting in February.
She also said she hadn’t known there were other issues such as those identified by Slough.
Jarrous said there had never been any official citation issued related to the lighting problem, until the revocation letter arrived.
“It didn’t seem like a proportional response to the situation,” Jarrous said of the license revocation.
She added that she’s trying to work with city officials to fix the problem and restore the permit, perhaps as soon as the next city council meeting on April 10.
