Detroit City Council is likely to consider restrictions on marijuana advertisements in the city. Council member Angela Whitfield Calloway is leading the proposed changes to city code that would prohibit marijuana advertisements from being within a 1,000-foot radius of “sensitive property” locations that “may have an impact” on children.
The properties include schools, child care centers, juvenile detention or correctional facilities, libraries, parks, playfields intended for sports, playgrounds, recreation centers and more. The ordinance would follow the same rules as alcohol and tobacco advertisements.
Whitfield Calloway told the Free Press in a statement that she’s motivated over concerns for children’s health.
“Earlier this year, (Detroit Public Schools Community District) Superintendent Nikolai Vitti expressed concerns about the proliferation of marijuana in schools, which has been exacerbated by the legalization of marijuana in Michigan in 2018,” the statement said. “Between 2021 and 2023, there were over 1,700 reported incidents and hospitalizations due to marijuana use in DPSCD. This includes students as young as elementary age. Not only is this traumatizing for all involved, but it is highly disruptive to the learning process.
‘Oversaturation’ of pot billboards normalizes ‘harmful behaviors’
“As chair of the Youth and Civic Engagement Task Force, and a lifelong educator, I take my responsibility to address and prevent substance use in children seriously,” she said, adding: “We live in a new reality where marijuana is largely accepted and more prevalent in everyday life. However, it remains that marijuana does not belong in our schools.”
She said her proposal to mirror restrictions on alcohol and tobacco advertising aims “to reduce the subconscious exposure that contributes to the normalization of these harmful behaviors. The oversaturation of such ads has fostered a mentality that ‘everyone is doing it, so it must not be harmful.’ “
Whitfield Calloway’s office told the Free Press that the proposed ordinance will appear on next Tuesday’s formal session agenda to be referred to committee. It is unclear when City Council is expected to take up the vote.
If a new property deemed sensitive is developed within 1,000 feet of an existing advertisement, companies will have 60 days to remove it.
Anyone who is found guilty of violating the ordinance, if approved, would face a misdemeanor and may be fined up to $500 and face up to 90 days in jail.
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