Two years after the city opted to allow recreational marijuana, Detroit’s City Council approved a new, more-inclusive ordinance in an effort to award licenses for recreational-use dispensaries in Michigan’s largest city.
The development follows a longstanding disagreement among leaders and residents over how much opportunity should specifically be given to longtime Detroiters. The city’s initial attempt was discouraged last year after a federal judge ruled its first ordinance approved in 2020 was “likely unconstitutional” for providing too much preference to legacy Detroiters.
On Tuesday, the council voted 8-1 on the latest ordinance following two hours of discussion. At-large Councilwoman Mary Waters voted against it, citing a “broken licensing system” in the ordinance.
“This ordinance is not a perfect ordinance,” Mayor Pro Tem James Tate said. “There is an opportunity beyond today to make advancements.”
To read more, click on Detroit News