Detroit council passes restrictions on pot dispensaries Vote means some dispensaries will likely close, others to be regulated

Joe Guillen | Detroit Free Press

The Detroit City Council passed an ordinance Thursday that could drastically curtail the city's booming medical marijuana industry. Many of the city's more than 150 pot shops are in violation of the new zoning law, which takes effect March 1.

By a 6-1 vote, the council passed an ordinance that will prohibit the shops from operating within 1,000 feet of a church, school, park, liquor store, other marijuana shops and other places considered a drug-free zone under city law, such as libraries and child-care centers. The council rejected an amendment that would've limited the stores even further, to only the city's industrially zoned areas.

1st District Councilman James Tate, who championed the regulations, said the new rules strike a balance between making medical marijuana accessible to patients while cracking down on "bad actors" who operate shops in neighborhoods that attract recreational users and, sometimes, violent activity.

"We did show a path for medical marijuana caregiver centers to exist," Tate said. "But what we did not do is open the door to continued saturation — and that's the main concern."

Councilman Scott Benson of the 3rd District voted against the ordinance. Council members George Cushingberry Jr. and Raquel Castaneda-Lopez were absent from the meeting, a special session called during the council's winter recess.

Benson said he voted "no" because the ordinance is too lenient. His amendment to limit the shops to the city's industrial areas was rejected 4-3. Instead, the stores will be legal outside of the 1,000-foot boundaries in areas zoned B2 and B4, which covers general business areas of the city and some residential sections. The zoning law prohibits them in portions of “main streets” as designated by the city’s zoning ordinance, including Woodward Avenue, Grand River, East Jefferson and other major thoroughfares. Shops are also prohibited from having 24-hour operations.

"I know it's a hard position, but we as a city are going to have to be willing to fight for the best uses within our neighborhoods," Benson said. "If other successful communities are not allowing this use, maybe we should take a look at this practice. We have to demand more, set the bar high and be deliberate if we want to continue to improve our city."

As of March 1, both the new rezoning rules and licensing regulations the council passed in October for medical marijuana stores will take effect. At that time, applications will be available at city hall for licenses to operate the businesses. The council will set the fee for a license before March 1. Applicants are subject to background checks, police inspections and other approvals.

The city's top lawyer, Melvin (Butch) Hollowell made it clear during Thursday's public hearing that all existing medical marijuana shops are operating unlawfully until the new rules take effect. He said that the city has discretion to enforce the laws.

Police Chief James Craig told the council that his department will continue to respond to neighborhood complaints about marijuana shops that may be selling to those without medical marijuana cards or causing other problems.

"We're not going to arbitrarily go to dispensaries" and shut them down before March 1, Craig said. "We think education is important. We want to make sure everyone's clear on the law."

The council's vote followed a spirited, four-hour public hearing where more than 100 people spoke out on the proposed regulations. Councilman Gabe Leland, who chaired the hearing, had to gavel down the crowd several times after loud boos and cheers interrupted the meeting.

Alethea Mallory, 61, said her east-side home recently was broken into. She suggested the culprits were marijuana users.

"We're sick and tired of being abused by these people on medicine," Mallory said. "We've watched neighborhoods disintegrate."

But 57-year-old Madge Penelope Morgan said she relies on medical marijuana to treat the effects of a stroke she suffered. While she agreed that there may be too many dispensaries, she worried about losing access to her treatment.

"I have to catch buses to get my medication," Morgan said. "I need my marijuana."

Many residents and some council members expressed support for curtailing the marijuana storefronts because surrounding cities don't allow them, leaving Detroit to become a medicinal marijuana haven.

Benson said he is compassionate for those who need medicine, but he said many of the shops seem to be marketed toward recreational use.

"If you look outside the city of Detroit, the vast number of municipalities, even counties, have indicated this is not a use that we want, nor is this a use that we will allow," Benson said. "We do not have to be a depository for all the negative vices."

Benson's amendment to restrict the pot shops to industrial areas raised legal concerns for some council members. Council members Tate and Janee Ayers said Benson's amendment may have opened the city to costly lawsuits.

However, the council did pass an amendment that opens the door for some shops in violation of the zoning restrictions to continue to operate. As originally proposed, there was a 20% cap on zoning variances, meaning a business owner could apply for a variance if his shop was within 800 feet — 1,000 feet minus a 20% variance — or more of a restricted area. But the council lifted the cap, meaning some stores can apply for a variance if they are next door to a church or some other protected establishment. The Board of Zoning Appeals would make the final call in those situations.

Jamaine Dickens, a consultant working with 420 Dank, a dispensary on Gratiot with drive-through service, said his client will have to apply for basically a 100% variance because the store is next to a church. "They have to make their case before the Board of Zoning Appeals. 420 has become a valuable member of the community," he said. "All they want to be is a good corporate citizen."

Dickens said it's hard to say how many of Detroit's 150 or more marijuana storefronts will continue to operate after the new laws are enforced. He estimated about 60 would be shut down because they are near schools and other places considered a drug-free zone. An additional 60 or so would have a hard time meeting the city's requirements for a business license.

"It could be 120 that are no longer here," he said.

One dispensary owner, speaking to the Free Press on Wednesday, contends the regulations are too harsh. Efforts to regulate Detroit’s medical marijuana storefronts have sparked a passionate debate between some residents who dislike the rapid proliferation of the shops in their neighborhoods, patients who rely on them for easy access to marijuana, and owners who have taken dozens of once-boarded up storefronts and opened them as marijuana dispensaries.

James Shammas of Rochester Hills, owner of Unified Collective on 8 Mile just west of John R, said that if the ordinance passes, his shop will probably have to close.

It is located in a shopping center directly adjacent to a strip club, which would be illegal under the city’s proposed ordinance that calls for 1,000 feet of separation between dispensaries and liquor stores, strip clubs and churches.

“There needs to be some sort of regulation, but what they’re proposing is extreme, to say the least,” Shammas said.

State law is vague as to whether dispensaries or transfer centers are legal. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette declared in 2013 that dispensaries were not legal in Michigan, yet hundreds of them continue to operate, generally in counties where prosecutors have been tolerant of them, such as Washtenaw County, or where there apparently are higher law-enforcement priorities, such as Wayne County. Oakland County does not allow dispensaries to operate there.