Today the Washington State Supreme Court declined to hear a challenge to the state’s voter-approved recreational marijuana law.

Instead, the justices referred MMH, LLC v. Fife to Division Two of the Washington Court of Appeals.

The plaintiffs seek to open a retail marijuana outlet in Fife, despite the city’s ban on such businesses. The city argues that it is not required to allow marijuana businesses under Initiative 502, a position consistent with an Attorney General’s Office opinion released in January of last year. The Attorney General’s Office intervened in the case (and similar cases filed against other jurisdictions) to defend I-502.

After a Pierce County Superior Court judge agreed with the office’s opinion last August, the plaintiffs filed a petition for review with the high court.

The Attorney General’s Office filed a response brief, upholding its duty to defend the will of the voters. All five courts to reach a decision on the issue to date have agreed with the Attorney General’s position.

The Court of Appeals will likely hear oral arguments in the case later this year.