06/06/2019- An ordinance has been introduced allowing Menominee to opt out of recreational marijuana sales, but nothing’s set in stone yet. The City had been waiting until Michigan released their draft guidelines pertaining to pot sales, which were expected June 1st, but that date has come and gone with no word from the state and City officials are concerned if they don’t act soon, they’ll run out of time to decide for themselves and will be locked in to permitting sales. City Attorney Rob Jamo reiterated at a Judicial and Legislative/Personnel and Labor Committee meeting Wednesday the City can opt in again after opting out and moving forward with a prohibition ordinance buys them more time to make a final decision.
City Manager Tony Graff has been reviewing reports from other states that have legalized the use and sale of recreational pot, but says they’ve been largely inconclusive on whether the risks outweigh the benefits.
The proposed ordinance prohibiting all types of recreational pot establishments in Menominee was approved by the JL/PL Committee and City Council will set a public hearing for it at their June meeting. Although 434 other municipalities in Michigan have gone on the books opting out, the only two on that list from Menominee County are Mellen Township and the City of Stephenson.