Mason voters will decide whether to allow pot shops in city in November election

MASON — The city could become the next Lansing-area municipality to allow recreational marijuana sales if voters approve a city ordinance proposal in November.

The City Council voted earlier this month to place the proposal on the general election ballot. The vote came after Ypsilanti attorney Anderson Grandstaff sent a letter to officials in December saying he would launch a petition drive on behalf of an unidentified group of clients to overturn the city's ban put in place following statewide approval of the 2018 Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act.

The ballot proposal could lead to the further expansion of recreational pot shops in the region, which until recently have been confined largely to Lansing, East Lansing and Meridian Township. Eaton County's first dispensary opened earlier this summer in Charlotte and a second in the city is planned. Clinton County doesn't have any recreational pot stores , but does have one grower located near Lansing.

Mason Mayor Russ Whipple said Grandstaff's petition was never circulated and was the only petition brought to the city council's attention.

Grandstaff, who has led efforts to allow sales in numerous Michigan communities, declined comment on his efforts involving Mason or the identity of his client.

In 2018, Michigan voters approved a ballot proposal that legalized recreational marijuana use, 56% to 44%, but also allowed cities to opt out of allowing sales and other marijuana businesses. Mason, at the time, banned retail marijuana sales in the community, as did many communities across the region and state.

"This has been a strategy for the marijuana industry, is to put things on the ballot that then would dictate how those were run, and it's not necessarily being locally driven," Mason City Manager Deborah Stuart said. "There is a difference between legalizing marijuana for recreational use and having an establishment selling it in your community."

During their July 15 meeting, council members acknowledged the 2018 general election results in Mason, in which 2,245 voters favored legalization while 1,612 were opposed. With those numbers in mind, they voted to add their own ballot question to the November election instead of a proposal offered by Grandstaff.

The city's proposed ordinance up for a vote in November would allow two retail marijuana establishments. The city would charge $5,000 per application, as well as renewal fees.

Stuart said the draft ordinance and a page on the city's website with additional information will be created for residents to read at least 60 days before the election.

Stuart said a previous petition to overturn the ban failed to attract enough signatures to place the issue before city voters. However, in response to Grandstaff's letter threatening a new petition drive that would include a proposed ordinance, the City Council reconsidered.

"My client has connected with many of your constituents and believes that there would be strong grassroots support for the passage of the attached ballot initiative," Grandstaff wrote to the City Council, adding, "it would prefer to avoid any appearance of an adversarial relationship with the City Council of Mason."

Allowing retail licenses would capture state tax money for the city as well. Michigan's recreational pot market has grown to a $3 billion market. In February, the state distributed $87 million in marijuana tax proceeds to 269 municipalities. Each city, township, village or county gets about $59,000 for each dispensary, so Mason could potentially capture $118,000 if two dispensaries open.

Ingham County governments received $1.8 million for their 30 stores, behind only Bay and Kalamazoo counties (32 stores), Washtenaw County (45 stores) and Wayne County (59 stores). Lansing at the time had two dozen businesses. Only Ann Arbor and Detroit, with 26 and 59 shops, had more retail outlets than the capital city.

How the proposal came about

In his 2023 letter, Grandstaff offered a draft ordinance that set a maximum of two retail establishments within the city, and excluded marijuana growers, processors, facilities or transporters.

The proposal, city staff said in a memo earlier this month to City Council, would end Mason’s prohibition on recreational/adult-use marijuana retail businesses, establish a regulatory framework for the licensure, establish procedures and guidelines for employees of Mason to follow.

"It would require us to follow an adoption process that was simply not possible, and then the other side of it was creating a municipal process for managing marijuana businesses that we weren't comfortable with," Whipple said.

Grandstaff also told city officials he would be willing to discuss changes to the proposed ordinance that would make retail sales more palatable to officials. City officials collaborated with Grandstaff to draft an ordinance better suited for the city, Stuart said.

In addition to working with Grandstaff, Mason officials looked at the City of Birmingham's marijuana ordinance . Birmingham also was approached by an outside entity proposing an ordinance to allow marijuana establishments. The city's response was to take control and alter the proposed ordinance and include a draft ordinance with a ballot proposal. The proposal, however, was defeated in November 2023 by a more than 2-1 ratio.

Grandstaff, marijuana interests push issue

Grandstaff has been part of efforts in multiple communities to get retail marijuana sales legalized.

Among communities Grandstaff previously threatened with petition drives are Harbor Springs , Howell , Kinderhook Township near Coldwater , and several cities in Oakland County : Auburn Hills, Clarkston, Keego Harbor, Lathrup Village, and Leonard Village.

Kinderhook Township placed a proposal on the 2024 General Election ballot, and a petition in Howell collected enough signatures to add a proposal as well.

Harbor Springs, Clarkston, Lathrup Village and Leonard Village did not pass ordinances. Keego Harbor and Auburn Hills approved ordinances.

Contact Sarah Moore at smoore@lsj.com

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Mason voters will decide whether to allow pot shops in city in November election