The Detroit City Council plans to take up a new medical marijuana ordinance that would clarify the city's regulatory role and include benefits for Detroiters.
Councilmember James Tate proposed the ordinance.
The ordinance would regulate how marijuana dispensaries and related operations would be approved by the city.
If the ordinance is approved, new rules would be established to clarify zoning and space regulations.
According to the City of Detroit, the proposed ordinance would do the following:
- *Invite prospective owners of medical marijuana facilities to offer community benefits as part of their application for approval.
- *Cap the number of medical marijuana dispensaries at 75.
- *Clarify the City's spacing and "drug-free zone" requirements drawn into question by the 2017 ballot initiative.
- *Allow the City to locally approve four additional types of medical marijuana facilities, for growing, testing, transporting and processing.
"Approving this ordinance would finally bring some closure to this issue and chart the path to the future of this industry in the City of Detroit and the State of Michigan," said Councilman Tate. "The goal has always been to ensure that we have an industry that is respectful of the neighborhoods, the communities it is located in, but also considerate to individuals seeking safe access to alternative medication. This ordinance balances those two needs with the preservation of neighborhoods being the top priority."
