MedMen taking Miami Beach to court over cannabis dispensary regulations

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Multistate marijuana operator MedMen is suing Miami Beach, Florida, claiming a local regulation – which requires medical cannabis dispensaries be at least 1,200 feet from each other – violates state law.

According to the Miami Herald, MedMen is charging the city’s zoning ordinance would limit the number of dispensaries in Miami Beach to seven – which breaches a state requirement that a given municipality use the same restrictions for dispensaries that it places on pharmacies.

The new ordinance, approved last month, allowed existing pharmacies to be grandfathered in but designates only four areas of the city for new pharmacies and dispensaries, the Herald reported.

MedMen spokesman Daniel Yi told the newspaper the new ordinance was put in place after the company had begun work on opening a new dispensary in Miami Beach – including signing a 10-year lease and investing $1.2 million in renovations.

However, Yi said, Medmen’s final permit was denied because its location is 100 feet from another dispensary.