![]() By setting their own rules, municipalities weave a complicated web that is cumbersome to businesses. He said the state has treated cannabis as a gaming industry, rather than as an agricultural one. Matt Baker is in the market, commercially growing cannabis in Jackson County’s Leoni Township, which he said has been fairly cannabis friendly.Īccording to Baker, Michigan has one of the most highly regulated cannabis markets, but it is still open enough to have significant competition for businesses. “That’s what really drove me out, that finally I just didn’t want to play their game.” “And after a time, it was like, ‘Wow, I don’t want to play that deeply in the bureaucracy of it all,’” Stewart said. The state did not stay consistent with its rules, often changing them, Stewart said, but municipalities also share responsibility. He said he had been in the business “from the beginning,” and “that just didn’t settle well.” Stewart said the state allowed wealthy applicants from out of state to get licenses, making it harder for in-state smaller businesses and growers to stay in the game, including those selling medical pot. When the 2008 law passed, Stewart opened a medical cannabis business in Pittsfield Township in Washtenaw County. Tony Stewart said he is no longer in the industry because of licensing and his local township. New businesses must apply for licenses through the state Cannabis Regulatory Agency.ĭavid Harns, the communications director for the agency, said licensing involves a two-step process, with applicants needing approval from a municipality and the state. “That’s how this whole 2018 ballot proposal was sold to voters.” “Although it’s frustrating to many cannabis consumers and corporations, I support local approval of cannabis businesses, and Michigan NORML does as well,” Thompson said. Thompson said more northern communities are allowing sales including the village of Kalkaska, Alpena and Traverse City. Localities that legalize sales can impose restrictions, such as limiting the number of licenses and setting zoning requirements. “However, it’s very surprising the number of communities in what you’d normally consider to be conservative zones, which have come on board to accept cannabis retailers, cultivation centers and other businesses,” he said. “We do see suburban areas, for example, those areas outside of Grand Rapids and those areas outside of Detroit, that have been more eager to accept cannabis businesses than sometimes their rural counterparts,” Thompson said. The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, seeks to protect access for cannabis consumers, said Rick Thompson, the Michigan’s chapter executive director.įollowing approval of the 2008 medical cannabis proposal, Thompson said public support for marijuana businesses has been uneven across Michigan. As a result, users and those in the industry have to navigate these differences. In 2018, voters approved a statewide ballot proposal that permits adult-use recreational cannabis but allows localities to opt out or pass their own regulatory policies. LANSING – The results of Michigan’s local ballot proposals in November to legalize retail recreational marijuana were mixed, with about half passing, expanding the number of municipalities that allow cannabis businesses.īy the end of 2022, 129 municipalities chose to permit adult-use cannabis, and 1,378 communities opted out. Spartan Newsroom - News and information from student journalists at the Michigan State University School of Journalism About the Michigan State University School of Journalism.MSU School of Journalism Code of Ethics.MSU journalism COVID-related reporting guidelines.Michigan Chile Investigative Journalism Program.
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