DETROIT (WXYZ) — Councilman James Tate and Mayor Mike Duggan announced a proposed ordinance that would allow adult-use recreational marijuana licensing in Detroit.
The ordinance will allow 10 types of licenses: Medical Marihuana provisioning center, adult use retailer establishment, grower, processor, safety compliance facility, temporary marihuana event, microbusiness, designated consumption lounge and secure transporter.
The legislation includes a social equity program (SEP) which guarantees that no less than 50% of all license types will be awarded to Detroit Legacy applicants.
“We have taken the necessary time to craft legislation that is not aimed at excluding anyone from their goals to succeed in this market but to ensure that we legally providing a pathway towards inclusion and opportunity for residents of our city, which has been disproportionately impacted by marijuana convictions,” Tate said in a press release. “Many are now profiting from the same plant that has lead to countless criminal convictions which devastated countless families within our city. The time has come for equity currently not present within Detroit’s cannabis industry.”
The program ensures that Detroiters will have an equitable opportunity to sustainably participate in the state’s legal adult-use marijuana industry.
“In the past when licenses for marijuana businesses become available, they tend to go to non-residents, rather than those who live in this community,” Duggan said. “What Councilman Tate has crafted here in partnership with our law department ensures that longtime Detroit residents will have the opportunity to build real wealth as part of this lucrative new industry.”
The item will be referred to the full body of the Detroit City Council this week. If approved by the end of this year, the application process would begin in January 2021.
