Detroit City Council on Tuesday postponed until next week a vote on an ordinance that would allow recreational cannabis businesses in the city.
A revised recreational marijuana ordinance was on Tuesday’s agenda, but the vote was postponed to give council members and city officials more time to go over changes that have been made to the ordinance, said Council President Pro-tempore James Tate, who introduced the ordinance.
The new ordinance, which was introduced by Tate in February, stipulates half of the retail and grower licenses, among others, will go to so-called “equity applicants,” which includes longtime Detroiters and people who live in communities where marijuana-related convictions are greater than the Michigan average.
Mark Snipes, CEO of West Coast Meds, a medical marijuana dispensary on the city’s west side, spoke at the council meeting Tuesday. Snipes showed a picture of his dispensary’s lobby, which was closed because Snipes said he can’t afford to stay open.
“It’s another day of missed opportunity,” he said of the inability to sell to recreational users.