Brian Budz at New Vansterdam just called me to ask what was going on with a supposed lawsuit by Clark County retail stores against growers in the state for price gouging.

He asked because he said neither New Vansterdam, nor Main Street Marijuana are 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, but that has nothing to do with a lawsuit against growers, Budz said.

“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.

The misinformation seems to be coming from this story on KOIN-6, which suggests that the stores are part of a lawsuit by attorney Liz Hallock.

It looks like the retail group may have been confused with the lawsuit somehow, but Budz said emphatically that New Vansterdam and Main Street Marijuana are not a part of it.

“Neither one of us are involved,” Budz said.

Ramsey Hamide, a manager at Main Street Marijuana, also confirmed that his store is not part of Hallock’s lawsuit against growers.

“Neither store is party to her complaint or lawsuit,” Ramsey said.

He added that the news station used Main Street Marijuana in the background of the story, even though the store isn’t involved.

A call for comment to Hallcok’s office was not immediately returned.

Some growers have called Budz, worried about what’s going on. Budz said the lawsuit story has been making it more difficult to secure deals.

“She’s saying it’s a class action suit, but I don’t even know who’s involved,” Budz said.

It’s possible some stores that haven’t yet opened would be part of the lawsuit, but none of them have returned calls to the Columbian in the past month.