Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Take Over Detroit, Despite Being Illegal
Detroit has gone from the Motor City to the marijuana dispensary capital of Michigan. Recent reports indicate that although marijuana dispensaries are not exactly legal in the state, well over a hundred of these outlets have set up shop across the city.
Councilman James Tate recently told CBS Detroit that an estimated 180 medical marijuana dispensaries have opened for business in Detroit, and it seems like a new shop is opening up every day. “This is the next big thing in the city of Detroit,” he said.
The immediate problem with this over saturation is no one is even sure if they are legal. Michigan’s medical marijuana program allows for private cannabis clubs, but dispensaries, along with marijuana edibles were banned a couple of years ago. Tate says this insurgence of weed-slingers has caused the city to file lawsuits against these businesses, but so far, the pot shops are winning.
“These buildings, they have now just started popping up everywhere and because the state law is not clear on if they’re allowed or not, we take these businesses to court and they just get tied up and they just stay there,” said Tate. “We have not won not one case, nothing has been shut down and that’s the reason why. Most of these businesses don’t have a permit, they have no licensing.”
Interestingly, it appears as though these marijuana dispensaries will be allowed to operate until state lawmakers can more clearly define the medical marijuana law. That was expected to happen before the session ended in December, but last minute incompetence on behalf of the legislature left the issue unresolved.