3Fifteen is back in business with a change in management

Recreational marijuana outlet 3Fifteen was closed temporarily while a court case was being decided on over who controls the company. That issue has been settled, and the dispensary is now re-opened.

By Charles Sercombe
One of Hamtramck’s four cannabis retail outlets is back in business.
3Fifteen, on Jos. Campau near Zinow, was temporarily closed for a few weeks while a court case over who controls the company was settled.
As it turned out, Skymint is now the sole owner of the store, but 3Fifteen still holds the business license in Hamtramck.
A spokesman for the company, Jeff Gaunt, told The Review that Skymint holds all of the assets, and is in the process of taking over the business license.
However, if that does happen, according to Hamtramck’s marijuana dispensary ordinance, it could lead to an automatic shutdown.
The ordinance, section 121.004 (11-I) says: “A marijuana establishment license issued under this chapter is not transferable.” However, this section has not been challenged yet in court.
As of now, a business license renewal application for 2023-24 has been submitted by Victor Kattloula, who has held the license since the outlet initially opened in 2022.
As for the reopening, Gaunt told The Review, in an email:
“We are excited that we have reopened our storefronts. We appreciate the court’s careful consideration in this case, which has restored full operating authority over these locations to SKYMINT.
“Our focus now is on continuing to provide customers throughout the state with the exceptional products and service they have come to expect from SKYMINT.”
Hamtramck has had a rocky history of allowing marijuana recreational dispensaries to operate here, and it took several years before it was fully allowed.
And then it all happened almost accidently, because the then-city council took no action to regulate the business, which allowed the city’s four dispensaries to exploit a state loophole.
And that loophole is if a city takes no action to regulate – meaning it neither opted in nor out — a dispensary can open, as long as it meets state requirements.
The city eventually shut that door, decided to opt in to allow the dispensaries but limited the number of outlets to four that were already currently operating.
Many in the Muslim community were – and still are — vehemently opposed to allowing the retail sale of marijuana, for fear it would attract crime or result in minors getting their hands on it.
Daily police incident reports have not confirmed any of that happening.
Most of the activity at the outlets is subdued, and there are no groups of people congregating around the stores.
Each store has security presence as well.
The outlets have proven to be a boon for the city in taxes and fees. The city has been receiving a total of over $200,000 a year from the four outlets.
That breaks down to over $50,000 per outlet each year.
Still, there are some who say the city can afford to lose that revenue stream — while others have argued that the city needs every tax dollar it can get.
Posted April 21, 2023