City sets new hearing on cannabis ordinance

Mt. Pleasant residents will again get a chance to comment on proposed changes to the city’s recreational marijuana ordinance at a public hearing next week.

City commissioners set the hearings for Monday at 7 p.m. at the regularly scheduled meeting, following another discussion last month to determine whether to remove the number of retail licenses for adult use cannabis within the city.

Commissioners tabled action on the proposal at the last regular meeting after hearing from several residents, most of whom support the change, including the owners of Consano, a medical marijuana business near downtown Mt. Pleasant, who have been imploring commissioners for a recreational license since the city granted three licenses to two dispensaries — Jars and Lume.

Caleb Cary, who owns Consano with his mother, Deborah Cary, again told commissioners his business will close without a recreational license.

A group of people for political reasons wants Jars and Lume to have a monopoly on the retail recreational cannabis market, the medical marijuana market is on the decline and there are roughly 400 medical marijuana cardholders in Isabella County, Cary said.

Mt. Pleasant resident Bob Busch, husband of Commissioner Liz Busch, said it’s time for city officials to embrace the “new world,” be bold, and to ignore scare tactics.

Mt. Pleasant is geographically ideal for not only retail recreational marijuana businesses but also other aspects of the industry, Busch said.

“I’m a geographer and obviously centrally located is the name of the game,” Busch said, noting that amending the ordinance will get the issue off the agenda.

Busch told commissioners to let the market decide and to seize the future.

Tabling the proposal last month gave city staff time to bring other options in amending the numerical limit on recreational marijuana retail licenses.