SAGINAW, MI — A group that seeks a moratorium on new marijuana dispensaries in the City of Saginaw will meet to rally support.
The forum is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Dec. 4, which is a Wednesday, at Success Academy, 1000 Tuscola in the former OIC building.
Members of the Saginaw County Prevention Coalition opposed the past City Council’s 2020 decision to allow cannabis shops after statewide approval of a 2018 referendum for limited legalization. Their proposed temporary ban, with time to study the impact so far, is an attempt at compromise.
Other cities, even conservative Grand Rapids, have joined Saginaw in giving thumbs up, reaping $60,000 per dispensary in annual revenue. Communities that are more economically prosperous, like Saginaw Township and Frankenmuth locally, have said no.
Saginaw’s number of city dispensaries has fluctuated near a dozen, with two-thirds on the West Side, including a pair one block apart across from the Court Theater.
Leaders of the Prevention Coalition, formerly the Family Youth Initiative, have emphasized marijuana’s harmful effects on child development, from elementary grades into the teens.
To show balance, they also are focused on party stores and underage sales to minors.
