By DEBRA HAIGHT
BCR Correspondent
In this time of COVID-19, the marijuana industry has been among those deemed essential and that have prospered. In Southwest Michigan, more and more recreational and medical marijuana businesses are being approved and opening to the public.
The city of Buchanan has been one of the most marijuana friendly communities in Berrien County and that hasn’t changed this year. More businesses are opening and city officials are making sure local ordinances correctly reflect what’s operating on the ground.
Last month, Buchanan City Commissioners approved amending the city’s adult use marijuana ordinance to expand the number of retail establishments from five to six on a 3-1 vote with one abstaining. Sean Denison voted no and Mark Weedon abstained since he works for a marijuana business in the city.
City Zoning Administrator Debra Patzer said the ordinance amendment “levels the playing field” more than expands the retail adult use marijuana market. She said the city’s policy has been to allow medical marijuana businesses to enter the adult use marijuana market if they wish but the ordinance didn’t reflect that until now.
The discrepancy between the city’s policy and the ordinance became apparent in recent months, Patzer and City Manager William Marx said. The city commission and planning commission had approved adult use permits for both Redbud Roots on Post Road and Pinnacle on East Front although only one permit was left to give out before the ordinance amendment.
Right now, Patzer said that three marijuana establishments are in operation-Zen Leaf, Cannavista Wellness and High Profile. Two more are in the works-7 Engines and Pinnacle Emporium. She emphasized that the ordinance amendment approved in July was designed to level the playing field and not expand the number of businesses and locations.
Two city residents spoke out against expanding the number of adult use retail marijuana permits during a public hearing before the meeting. Former City Commissioner Dan Vigansky said that he had led the fight to allow medical and recreational marijuana businesses in the city but doesn’t think having more retail marijuana businesses is a good idea.
“I don’t want to expand retail dispensaries, it’s not really a good thing for the downtown,” Vigansky said. “We should be focused on grow and processing facilities. Expanding the number is wrong, don’t do this. What keeps you from adding to the number again?”
Resident and DDA Chairman Penny Slocum said she and other downtown business owners don’t want more marijuana businesses downtown. She said people have been seen shooting up drugs and loitering in the downtown because of the marijuana businesses already there.
Patzer has a different perspective. “We hear that guests who visit our dispensaries also visit our other businesses, particularly restaurants,” she said. ‘We have had some issues with curbside pickup and our businesses have been very cooperative in working with the police department to keep traffic moving.”
Despite the controversy over marijuana businesses and where they should be located, Buchanan and many municipalities see marijuana as a way to revitalize their cities. Michigan communities began allowing medical marijuana businesses in 2017 and then have taken up the issue of recreational marijuana since a state referendum in 2018.
While some residents in Buchanan and elsewhere don’t want to see marijuana businesses in their communities, many local officials take a different as they say that any new business is beneficial and will raise needed property tax revenue for them.
“Currently the benefit for us has been more business and publicity about the city,” Patzer said. “People who are new to Buchanan are discovering us, in a good way. And yes, we will benefit from the tax revenue but that’s down the road.”
Officials in communities welcoming marijuana say that marijuana offers more sources of money for municipalities, not only because of the new local development bringing jobs and the revenue from property taxes but also because of the extra revenue coming from the state excise taxes.
State officials have said that they expect marijuana to be a $1 billion per year industry next year in 2021, with excise tax revenue from that business going back to the state, counties and local municipalities. The state has to recover its costs and collect its taxes before other entities get revenue.
15 percent of the excise tax revenue goes back to municipalities approving recreational marijuana, 15 percent to counties, 35 percent to the school aid fund and 35 to the state transportation to fund road and bridge repairs.
State and local leaders have acknowledged over the last year that the amount of revenue they initially anticipated to get with medical marijuana has changed with the 2018 legalization of recreational marijuana. A three percent excise tax on medical marijuana businesses was eliminated with the 2018 vote.
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