ALBERT LEA, Minn. (FOX 9) - The first business licensed to retail cannabis in Minnesota is still fighting for the right to open in the city of Albert Lea .

Costly combat

Winning and losing:

A judge recently gave him a big win, but the city is not giving up, no matter the cost.

Jacob Schlichter excitedly showed off his Smoking Tree space in June, the week he got the state’s first cannabis retail license.

Three months later, it’s almost as empty.

"We were set to open the next day after getting that state license and city registration," he said. "And all of that fell apart."

Albert Lea’s city council blocked his business license, which has prevented him from opening.

It wasn’t mentioned at the time, but city leaders later said Schlichter’s 2017 misdemeanor conviction for contribut

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