Ludington Opt-in or Opt Out?

[XLFD]

The moment of truth for recreational marijuana businesses in the city is coming up at the next Ludington City Council meeting (Monday, 10-28-19, 6:30 PM at city hall).  Roughly 5/9 of the state electorate voted to permit recreational marijuana (RM) use in the state and allow municipalities to opt out of allowing RM distributing businesses within their limits.   

The city council voted to opt-out shortly after the votes were counted last fall, in a unanimous decision which allowed the city to change its mind within 60 days of the state's published final set of rules regarding such businesses. 

Early this year, new Mayor Steve Miller fostered the creation of an ad hoc recreational marijuana committee, whose purpose was to study and research the effects and statistics behind the issue of permitting such businesses here.  They convened several times, looked at most aspects of the issue, and generated a report.  A well-attended meeting of the city council in September at the Ludington Area Center of the Arts allowed the public to weigh in either way.  Both sides were well represented and gave thoughtful, and sometimes even truthful, presentations.   

Monday's meeting has them considering two different resolutions that go two different ways.  The first is to continue to opt-out, acknowledging that they have followed up on their pledge to reevaluate the decision in the proper time period.

The second resolution is to signal the intention that the City will take necessary steps to make future rules and regulations necessary to opt in and establish a licensing authority.

Which of these ordinances do you think the city council will choose and why?  What would you advise your councilor to pick and why?

[Willy]

Since the voters decided to legalize pot it should be up to them to decide whether it can be openly sold on main street. I personally think it was a huge mistake to legalize the stuff. I don't think using it should merit jail time but opening the door to make it easy to obtain for young people will not bode well for future generations. it's saturating the school systems as we speak.It affects young people much more negatively than adults. I hope the Council does not allow the sale of pot in Ludington. You can tell children all about the harm of using drugs but all of that is negated when pot is legalized and openly sold and used. After all if it's OK for adults then why not kids. I'm afraid most adults today are like kids themselves and have never grown up.

[stump]

  Lets see , Drugs or Booze ? It seems that every other store front now is a Bar in town, my as well fill up the empty ones with RM and Vape stores to kill off the rest of the brain cells.

[Willy]

I was up town today and it was full of kids trick or treating. I can feel the pride the downtown merchants felt as the kids went bar and brewery hopping while begging for candy. Next year the little sweethearts can go bar to bar, brewery to brewery and pot shop to pot shop begging for treats. Norman Rockwell could not have painted a more all American scene.

[XLFD]

Octoberfest's pub crawl advertises that they have a dozen downtown taverns and bars as part of their circuit; Wesco, AJ's Party Port, Biercamp Market and many conventional downtown restaurants have a wide assortment of alcoholic beverages.   On the wholesome side, we have a couple of tattoo parlors and an alternative gift shop. 

A far cry from when I was younger, when Ludington's downtown actually catered to the community rather than have the community cater to them.   FYI, the DDA organizes and runs the trick or treating, so the 1500 pieces of candy each participating business gives out to the children is courtesy of the local taxpayers.  Nothing like getting them weaned on the sweetness of socialism at a young age.

[AQUAMAN]

Really? The DDA gives the trick or treat candy to the businesses? Funded by us taxpayers? I surely don't understand that stance nor how that is possible or even legal either. I thought the business owners, just like private residents, gave of their own generous nature, not the opposite, sad, and shocking to me at least.

[Freedom Seeker]

Very shocking about the candy being funded by the taxpayer! But not unbelievable when we know some of the other malfeasances the DDA orchestrates. A very non-transparent organization. A real secret squirrel operation. Try reading the minutes of the DDA. They seem intentionally obscure.

[XLFD]

The city council continued their stance of opting out of recreational marijuana facilities tonight, with all councilors voting and only one, Councilor Serna, voting against the opt-out.  Spirited discussion was had tonight by the public and councilors and even I weighed in for the first time publicly (at a meeting) on the topic.  This will likely be reconsidered next summer after the finalized rules are published by the state, but I don't see a lot of movement in this group of councilors either way.  It does make an interesting potential campaign issue in 2020 for the seats up for re-election (1st, 3rd, 5th and at large ward seats).

[Willy]

I hate to use the word wise when describing Ludington City Council but after doing some research on the subject I think it is a wise choice. All the products and by products of weed are now coming out of the woodwork. I learned about the new ways to get high from marijuana and there is a lot of information on this link and this link which goes along with the image below. A billboard on James near Dowland seems well meaning but a little to late. Read up on the potent oil and wax that can be made from this plant. No longer is "lighting up" necessary.

[XLFD]

Interesting that you use the term 'wise' when I used that word once last night in my comment-- and I used the word 'foolish' six times.  Coincidentally, I predicted every councilor's vote in that same ratio while explaining that I was definitely against recreational marijuana, but for the allowance of retail facilities.

Just like a whole lot of Democrats have never come to grips with the results of the 2016 Presidential election, a whole lot of Michigan Republicans have not yet come to grips with the results of the 2018 Proposal 1 approval.  Donald Trump is the POTUS and whatever the city council does, people can grow and use marijuana in their homes now and do so legally.  

I will be explaining my position more when I finish the meeting recap.

[AQUAMAN]

Is information available on just how much money was spent by the DDA on Halloween treats? Would be interesting to know now since about 15,000 treats were bought and given out last Saturday afternoon.

[XLFD]

The DDA is supposed to be inordinately transparent if they followed state laws, but they have been terrible, so I have had a hard time verifying that statement by looking at records and trying to figure out what kind of 'supplies' they have been getting.  My belief is based primarily on what Jen Tooman has implied in this recent COLDNews article from 2018:  

"Thousands of children, parents and grandparents participated in the trick-or-treating, along with more than 50 businesses and organizations, said Jen Tooman, Ludington Downtown Development Authority marketing and communications manager, who organized the event...  She said that Ludington Avenue businesses are each asked to hand out 1,500 pieces of candy, figuring one piece per child, and that businesses often run out of candy."

If the DDA organizes the event and makes sure every participating business has 1500 pieces of candy, one may presume there could be some candy subsidization going on.  I haven't heard from the City denying it, and I probably won't because I have a couple of years of old credit card bills that I can take a closer look at.

[stump]

Wouldn't it be just as easy to ask some of the local businesses who handed out candy if they bought it or was it supplied by the DDA?