Almost one full year after Michigan allowed recreational cannabis sales, officials in Detroit have released rules for licensed adult-use cannabis sales.
Detroit currently allows medical cannabis sales but doesn’t allow recreational sales. City Councilmember James Tate proposed the new law with the support of Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan. Duggan said only four of the city’s 46 medical cannabis dispensaries are run by residents of Detroit.
The Detroit City Council will allow 75 licenses for retail stores, 35 licenses for consumption establishments and 35 for microbusinesses. Licenses for cultivation, event organizers and secure transporters are not subject to caps on licenses by the city. The new law would focus on giving priority to individuals living in Detroit.
“Right now the medical marijuana industry is owned and operated by individuals who do not live in the City of Detroit,” Tate said. “We have to make sure we create a pathway to sustainability and success for Detroiters.”
The new law would require half of the available licenses issued to go to what are deemed “legacy Detroiters,” people who have lived in Detroit for at least 15 of the past 30 years, including the past year, for 13 of the past 30 years and are low income or for 10 of the past 30 years with a prior cannabis conviction. Detroiters who applied would be given priority licenses as well as discounts on application fees and the opportunity to purchase land for their businesses.
“In the past, when licenses for marijuana businesses become available, they tend to go to nonresidents rather than those who live in this community,” Duggan said. “What Councilman Tate has crafted here in partnership with our Law Department ensures that longtime Detroit residents will have the opportunity to build real wealth as part of this lucrative new industry.”
