Many major communities in the Great Lakes Bay Region and mid-Michigan have opted into allowing marijuana businesses, including Bay City, Saginaw, Mount Pleasant, and Pinconning Township.
However, the City of Midland remains hesitant to join them.
When Michigan voters chose to legalize recreational marijuana in the state of Michigan in 2018, Midland City Council chose not to opt in to letting those businesses operate here, whether medical or non-medical. However, one council member has been pushing to allow recreational shops to operate here in the Chemical City.
Council opted out of marijuana businesses in 2019 with a unanimous vote, due to a lack of direction from the state at that point. The topic of opting in was brought up again last year when council told City Attorney Jim Branson to explore the possibility of opting in. He presented his findings in January and council discussed its options.
However, members of council were torn on what to do. Council member Pam Hall wanted the city to opt in and said it should explore allowing marijuana businesses to operate in a professional way. Mayor Maureen Donker did not think this was a priority and that many people can go to surrounding communities if they want cannabis. Council member Steve Arnosky suggested that existing businesses should be allowed to operate marijuana testing labs.
Ultimately, council directed Branson to explore the possibility of allowing marijuana testing and marijuana transportation businesses in the city.
Council member Diane Brown Wilhelm told the Daily News recently that she has been hesitant to support opting in due to concerns regarding children being exposed to cannabis. She wants to see more data on what a retail business entails and what effects opting in has on a community, since it would be hard to back out if the city later regretted having opted in.
“We need to have some very strategic discussions,” Brown Wilhelm said.
But for her part, Hall said studies done in Colorado have been clear on how regulating marijuana has decreased cannabis use among school-aged children. People should not have to leave the city to buy recreational marijuana, or to get it for medical treatment, she said.
Hall also brought up the possibility of the economic opportunities that could come to Midland if it opted in. Municipalities can make revenue from licenses and a recreational marijuana excise tax.
Steve Scott, owner of Craft Hemp Company in Midland, said elected officials and lawmakers do not often use their due diligence to look into the marijuana industry and its benefits. If Midland opted in for just marijuana transportation and testing, Scott said the city would not see the job creation and tax benefits that it would with added retail options.
Bay City opted into marijuana businesses in 2019, with around 20 retail shops alone opening in the city since then. George Martini, fiscal services director for Bay City, said the city puts the marijuana revenue it earns into its general fund, which funds most major departments in the city.
Bay City’s total marijuana revenue collection includes:
- 2018: $130,000
- 2019: $40,000
- 2020: $188,500
- 2021: $426,704
Hall said Midland is missing out on funds that could go towards capital improvements and could attract more business talent to the city.
“More than enough time has shown the benefits to communities that allow marijuana in,” Hall said.
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