DETROIT (WWJ) - With so much talk about recreational marijuana in Michigan and its popularity, the industry is still having a problem getting a foothold in Detroit.
The Detroit City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to delay recreational marijuana sales in the city. Councilman James Tate says Detroit won't be intimidated.
"We won't be pressured by consumers who say we're allowing everybody else to get ahead of us," Tate told WWJ's Vickie Thomas. "We're not going to be pressured by the industry that says we should have an opportunity just like everyone else."
The city voted to opt out of allowing recreational marijuana businesses back in November, but that expires January 30. The Council's vote extends the opt-out through March, giving the city more time to establish rules and regulations.
"We're hopeful, very hopeful that by March 30 we'll have that ordinance ready to roll and get voted on," he said. "But the truth of the matter is we won't be pressured by any outside forces."
Tate says his office continues to work with industry professionals and advocates including grass-root organizations such as Black Cannabis Access and Advocates for Returning Citizens, who are helping advance Detroit's recreational adult-use ordinance through the cultivation of a social equity program.
The program would allow the city of Detroit to provide a reduction in application fees for "legacy" Detroiters who have lived in Detroit for an extended period of time. The program would also work with Detroiters who have been convicted of marijuana-related offenses prior to the passage of the November 2018 ballot proposal legalizing recreational marijuana in the State of Michigan. Other incentives could include new zoning options as well as a fund that would assist with start-up costs and technical assistance for program applicants.
It has been legal for Michigan residents and visitors to have up to 2.5 ounces (71 grams) of marijuana on them and up to 10 ounces (284 grams) at home, since December 6, 2018. Recreational sales in Michigan became legal on Dec. 1, 2019, and are taxed 10 percent on top of the six percent sales tax -- with tax dollars going to schools, roads and cities where the sales take place.
Roughly 30 retailers across the state have licenses approved for recreational sales, though not all are selling yet.
More than 1,400 cities in Michigan have formally opted-out of allowing recreational marijuana businesses.
