The Detroit City Council voted Tuesday to limit the number of medical marijuana dispensaries that will be allowed to operate within city limits. No more than 75 cannabis retail shops will be permitted under an ordinance adopted by the council without debate. The measure, which was proposed by council member James Tate in June, also places tighter regulations on the city’s cannabis industry.
Under the ordinance, cannabis businesses covering five different license types will be allowed to operate in the city. The measure regulates the commercial cultivation, processing, testing, distribution, and sale of medical marijuana citywide. The ordinance includes limitations on the number, size, location, and operations of cannabis businesses in the city. Another provision encourages medical marijuana firms seeking to do business in Detroit to include benefits for the community in their license applications.
Detroit Corporation Counsel Lawrence Garcia told local media that the council’s action is an effort to regulate unlicensed dispensaries that have appeared in Detroit in recent years.
“The ordinance passed today strikes a good balance that benefits both those who want development in the medical marijuana industry and those who want to preserve the City’s pre-medical marijuana character,” Garcia said.
Rush Hasan is a consultant for The Reef, a Detroit medical marijuana dispensary. He said that the ordinance passed by the council gives the Detroit cannabis industry needed guidance in their quest for licensing from the state. More than 60 medical marijuana dispensaries now operating under state emergency regulations must be licensed by September 15 in order to continue to operate. Companies still operating without a license after that date could become ineligible to receive one.
“It’s definitely a long time coming for a lot of people,” Hasan said. “This