"I think it is good to kind of wait on this, just because we have a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of things that need to be clarified," Councilmember Aaron Stephens said. "I don't think that necessarily action right now on this would be appropriate just because there are so many unknowns."

Provisioning centers will happen, it's just a matter of time, Mayor Mark Meadows said.

"I don't think this is a question of will we," Meadows said. "It's a question of more the structure of what we will do."

Regulating the number of centers in the city is an important question that does not have an answer yet, and it might not be answered by the next meeting, Meadows continued.

The provisioning centers discussion comes after the council passed an ordinance in early December allowing growers, processing, safety compliance and secure transfer facilities within city limits. 

The City of East Lansing will also join a growing lawsuit against "Big Pharma" and national distributors for their role in the opioid crisis, as long as there is no cost to the city.

The lawsuit seeks to recover damages from the 21 companies named for costs inflicted on the city related to opioids, lawyer David Mittleman said.

There is no cost to the city unless a settlement is reached, Mittleman said.

"There is no cost to the City of East Lansing," Mittleman said. "We are offering our services on a contingency fee, whereby we will be paying the upfront, out-of-pocket, advanced cost. ... Only if there is a recovery for the city, deduct those costs and we would take a 30 percent contingent fee. The rest of the money would go to the city."

Once the agreement is finalized, East Lansing will join other cities and counties in the suit, including Detroit, Lansing, Macomb County and Saginaw County.

The lawsuit involves multiple firms, including Church Wyble PC and The Sam Bernstein Law Firm, Mittleman said.