Detroit May Ban Recreational Cannabis Businesses – Again

The Detroit City Council may extend a ban on recreational cannabis businesses during its meeting today. The city initially adopted a ban on September 22, 2019.

If adopted, Detroit would be an outlier. Other large cities such as Ann Arbor, Lansing, East Lansing, Muskegon, Grand Rapids, Jackson, Battle Creek, and others opted into recreational marijuana. However, some of these cities have delayed the acceptance of applications until spring.

Detroit enacted its medical marijuana ordinance in March 2018. The city currently has 75 medical marijuana facilities that serve 673,104 residents. The city stopped accepting applications for provisioning centers in October 2018.

Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency has identified Detroit as a city that meets the Social Equity Program criteria for recreational marijuana businesses. Qualifying cities must have over 30% of its population below the federal poverty level. Under the Social Equity Program, qualifying participants may receive financial aid and help with the application.