Detroit City Council Postpones Vote on Revised Adult-Use Cannabis Ordinance

Cannabis businesses hoping to set up shop in Detroit will have to wait a while longer.

The Detroit City Council postponed a vote March 22 on an ordinance to allow the adult-use cannabis industry to operate within the city after making changes to the proposal, according to the Detroit Free Press.

RELATED: Detroit Ordinance to Allow Adult-Use Dispensaries Advances

Council members approved amendments to the proposed ordinance that would increase the total number of adult-use dispensary licenses available from 76 to 100 and create a lottery system to award licenses to applicants who have not yet locked in a business location, the news outlet reported.

The changes set off a new public comment period, which is scheduled for April 5, the same day City Council is expected to vote on the revised ordinance, according to the Detroit Free Press.

This latest development comes roughly nine months after U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman issued a 19-page injunction blocking Detroit’s previous plan to license adult-use dispensaries in the city.

The previous ordinance would have given licensing priority to entrepreneurs who have lived in the city for a certain number of years, as well as applicants with low incomes or past cannabis-related convictions.

Friedman called the proposal “likely unconstitutional” in his ruling, and the new ordinance provides separate paths for Detroit residents and non-residents to receive licenses, so the two classes of applicants do not compete against each other.