Jacob Redmond
Well-Known Member
Drive the Detroit side of 8 Mile Road, and you can't get too far without finding a medical marijuana dispensary — places like Area 51, Reef, Club Medz, House of Dank — more than 30 dispensaries line the south side of the iconic road, the northern border between the city and its suburbs. On the north side of 8 Mile, it's a different story; there's not a single identifiable dispensary along the 17-mile stretch.
It's impossible to say exactly how many dispensaries operate inside, or outside, the city of Detroit. They're not required to register with state or local authorities in the same way as pharmacies or liquor stores (imperfect examples, admittedly). But surveyors with Detroit-based data firm Loveland Technologies — the same team that counted the establishments along 8 Mile — found at least 146 dispensaries along Detroit's commercial corridors, documented in a report released last week. Loveland didn't inventory suburban dispensaries, but directories like - and a source show few listings in suburban communities, and in some cities, the few listings are for delivery-only operations.
It's a significant difference. Dispensaries in Detroit visibly range from those that seem obviously professional to others that are almost certainly not, and they can be found in neighborhoods, near schools, operating with few restrictions on hours, appearance or conduct.
It's a pretty clear testament to the power of regulation and enforcement, or lack thereof. And because at least 98 of the dispensaries that Loveland counted are within 1.15 miles of the suburbs, it's clear that this division isn't because there's not a suburban market for medical marijuana — and it's a glaring reminder of the legal morass created by the 2008 voter referendum that legalized use of medical marijuana.
Communities like Livonia, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Lyon Township passed ordinances barring the use of medical marijuana. And although those ordinances were overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2010, justices have since ruled that dispensaries have no right to operate anywhere, paving the way for municipalities to restrict their operations or banish them outright. .
In communities like Warren, cops have routinely rousted medical marijuana users. And sheriffs in Oakland and Macomb counties have proved willing to raid and close dispensaries, said Matt Abel, a partner with Detroit-based Cannabis Counsel, a marijuana-centric law firm.
Michigan voters legalized medical marijuana back in 2008 via a sloppily constructed law riddled with ambiguities and contradictions that have caused years of confusion for cities, law enforcement, medical marijuana users and caregivers.
Detroit City Councilman James Tate, who represents District 1, is urging council to pass an ordinance that would regulate dispensaries in the city, providing a legal framework for rational enforcement.
"Any time you have an industry that’s unregulated, there’s potential for abuse," he said. "We're talking about a product consumed by individuals, so there just have to be some kind of rules, for the safety of people consuming this medicine."
Abel says champions of medical marijuana are in favor of regulatory clarity but object to some provisions of Detroit's proposed ordinance: He's not sure why dispensaries can't be in proximity to churches, or to each other, or why they should be confined to industrial areas.
Of the dispensaries counted by Loveland, 58 are located within a thousand feet of an active school. Eight are located within a thousand feet of a high school.
That's another problem, Tate said.
"Too many of these locations have sprouted up with no guarantee that (the marijuana) they have is medical-grade," he said. "In many situations, they are violating state law ... the law states that you have to have a bright-line patient and caregiver relationship ... (the ordinance has) other rules of engagement, like who can own a dispensary, who can work there, hours of operation. We have some that are operating 24 hours a day, and that's a major, major issue for people in the neighborhood."
Medical marijuana is legal, even if the status of the shops that dispense it is unclear, but it's not unreasonable to balance business growth with commonsense zoning and regulation. There remains an attitude, Tate says, that anything goes in the city of Detroit. And, at times, it has been true. That can't go on. To attract new residents — and keep its existing population — Detroit has to offer order and stability, the kind of sureties many suburbanites take for granted, the kind most Detroiters crave. This ordinance is a good step toward that goal.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Dispensaries Sprout In Michigan
Author: Nancy Kaffer
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: Salwan Georges/Detroit Free Press
Website: Detroit Free Press
It's impossible to say exactly how many dispensaries operate inside, or outside, the city of Detroit. They're not required to register with state or local authorities in the same way as pharmacies or liquor stores (imperfect examples, admittedly). But surveyors with Detroit-based data firm Loveland Technologies — the same team that counted the establishments along 8 Mile — found at least 146 dispensaries along Detroit's commercial corridors, documented in a report released last week. Loveland didn't inventory suburban dispensaries, but directories like - and a source show few listings in suburban communities, and in some cities, the few listings are for delivery-only operations.
It's a significant difference. Dispensaries in Detroit visibly range from those that seem obviously professional to others that are almost certainly not, and they can be found in neighborhoods, near schools, operating with few restrictions on hours, appearance or conduct.
It's a pretty clear testament to the power of regulation and enforcement, or lack thereof. And because at least 98 of the dispensaries that Loveland counted are within 1.15 miles of the suburbs, it's clear that this division isn't because there's not a suburban market for medical marijuana — and it's a glaring reminder of the legal morass created by the 2008 voter referendum that legalized use of medical marijuana.
Communities like Livonia, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Lyon Township passed ordinances barring the use of medical marijuana. And although those ordinances were overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2010, justices have since ruled that dispensaries have no right to operate anywhere, paving the way for municipalities to restrict their operations or banish them outright. .
In communities like Warren, cops have routinely rousted medical marijuana users. And sheriffs in Oakland and Macomb counties have proved willing to raid and close dispensaries, said Matt Abel, a partner with Detroit-based Cannabis Counsel, a marijuana-centric law firm.
Michigan voters legalized medical marijuana back in 2008 via a sloppily constructed law riddled with ambiguities and contradictions that have caused years of confusion for cities, law enforcement, medical marijuana users and caregivers.
Detroit City Councilman James Tate, who represents District 1, is urging council to pass an ordinance that would regulate dispensaries in the city, providing a legal framework for rational enforcement.
"Any time you have an industry that’s unregulated, there’s potential for abuse," he said. "We're talking about a product consumed by individuals, so there just have to be some kind of rules, for the safety of people consuming this medicine."
Abel says champions of medical marijuana are in favor of regulatory clarity but object to some provisions of Detroit's proposed ordinance: He's not sure why dispensaries can't be in proximity to churches, or to each other, or why they should be confined to industrial areas.
Of the dispensaries counted by Loveland, 58 are located within a thousand feet of an active school. Eight are located within a thousand feet of a high school.
That's another problem, Tate said.
"Too many of these locations have sprouted up with no guarantee that (the marijuana) they have is medical-grade," he said. "In many situations, they are violating state law ... the law states that you have to have a bright-line patient and caregiver relationship ... (the ordinance has) other rules of engagement, like who can own a dispensary, who can work there, hours of operation. We have some that are operating 24 hours a day, and that's a major, major issue for people in the neighborhood."
Medical marijuana is legal, even if the status of the shops that dispense it is unclear, but it's not unreasonable to balance business growth with commonsense zoning and regulation. There remains an attitude, Tate says, that anything goes in the city of Detroit. And, at times, it has been true. That can't go on. To attract new residents — and keep its existing population — Detroit has to offer order and stability, the kind of sureties many suburbanites take for granted, the kind most Detroiters crave. This ordinance is a good step toward that goal.
News Moderator: Jacob Redmond 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Dispensaries Sprout In Michigan
Author: Nancy Kaffer
Contact: Email Author
Photo Credit: Salwan Georges/Detroit Free Press
Website: Detroit Free Press
