Brian Budz at New Vansterdam said he was surprised to hear that Clark County retail stores were suing growers in the state for price gouging.
That’s because neither New Vansterdam nor Main Street Marijuana is involved in any such lawsuit — and they are the only two operating retail marijuana stores in Clark County.
The two stores are part of a larger and very loose association of retail stores that was put together to work on tax and other issues.
It looks like that association, which doesn’t even have a name yet, was somehow wrongly associated with the a lawsuit against growers coming from Liz Hallock, a Clark County attorney, Budz said.
“Neither one of us are involved (with the lawsuit),” Budz said.
The confusion came after a story, titled “Pot retailers in Clark Co. plan lawsuit against growers,” appeared on the KOIN-TV website. The story says: “Some recreational marijuana retailers in Clark County are planning to sue pot growers, claiming they’re working together to keep prices high. The class action complaint is being filed on behalf of marijuana retailers everywhere, not just in Clark County, with the hope to bring down the cost of marijuana for customers.”
Budz said the TV story has caused some undue friction with growers, which he’s been trying to smooth out.
“Our relationship with the growers is the most important part of our business, and for it to become adversarial over something that’s just plain untrue, that’s a real shame,” Budz said.
Ramsey Hamide, a manager at Main Street Marijuana, also confirmed that his store is not part of Hallock’s lawsuit against growers, which hasn’t yet been filed. “Neither store is party to her complaint or lawsuit,” Hamide said.
He added that the news station used Main Street Marijuana’s storefront as a background image in its story on television, even though the store isn’t involved in the suit.
A call for comment to Hallock’s office was not returned. Through a secondary source, she said she was waiting to file the lawsuit before talking to the press.
It’s unclear if any Clark County stores that haven’t opened yet are part of the lawsuit.
Budz said he’s unaware of any other store owners in the region who are part of it.
“She’s saying it’s a class action suit, but I don’t even know who’s involved,” Budz said.
