A proposal to open a marijuana dispensary in the former Hamilton Home Bakery on Gratiot near Fordney Park is drawing plenty of jokes over users getting the munchies after imbibing in the now-legal substance.
It also is leading to a split on the City Council.
On Jan. 23, the vote was 4-4 to deny a permit, which leaves the plan up in the air, at least for now. But this would only stop Saginaw’s seventh cannabis shop, with no effect on the first six, or any to come in the future.
The Gratiot proposal is at the Council table only because the city owns the nearby park and would need to grant a waiver in this particular case.
Based on state revenues from a 10 percent excise tax on marijuana purchases, Saginaw’s city budget receives about $60,000 for each operating dispensary. There is no similar revenue share for liquor licenses, or for selling beer and wine.
Votes for a bakery go-ahead came from Mayor Brenda Moore, Pro-Tem Annie Boensch, Bill Ostash and Priscilla Garcia. Opposed were Michael Balls, Michael Flores, Monique Lamar Sylvia and George Copeland. Reggie Williams was absent and could break the logjam upon his return this month.
Williams previously has aired misgivings about his 2020 vote to allow cannabis sales in Saginaw. Flores, Lamar, Copeland and Garcia were not yet on the Council at that time.
(Discussion begins at the 1:40 mark on the YouTube video of the council meeting.)
Balls joined foes who lament that the city is being overrun with dispensaries.
“I don’t smoke weed,” he said, “but people tell me there are so many stores that the prices are starting to go down.”
Reports indicate that prices indeed are dropping, but the cause is product overproduction, not the number of dispensaries.
Ostash answered that state-regulated party stores that sell beer and alcohol still far outnumber the cannabis locations. He also noted that two-thirds of city residents have supported regulated legalization, many as an alternative to mass imprisonment from the War on Drugs.
He added that not all cannabis products are mind-altering. He personally uses CBD oil as a sleeping aid, and also to ease joint pain suffered by his pet dog.
Six dispensaries now do business in the City of Saginaw.
Shops that opened last year are Sozo Saginaw, 2617 Bay at Weiss; Great Lakes Network Remedies, 3465 Sheridan at Williamson (the old TimberTown); Skymint at 700 Gratiot (formerly Zorba’s), and Court Street Gardens, 1215 Court at Mason.
They join the pair that started two years ago, which are Lume Cannabis, 3446 State at Court; and Premier Provisioning, 911 East Genesee at Janes.
Michigan voters in 2018 approved a referendum through which local communities may allow limited sales of recreational marijuana. Most of the state’s larger cities have offered approval, seeking revenue from license fees and from a 10 percent excise sales tax which is added to the regular 6 percent. A few smaller towns have followed suit.
Meanwhile, most of the state’s affluent communities have turned thumbs down.
Sozo reflects the geographic and demographic trend, with its city-based location strategically at the border with Saginaw Township, which does not allow cannabis stores.
To make a purchase is similar to visiting a neighborhood party store for beer and/or booze. The difference is that a customer remains in a waiting area, similar to a doctor’s office, until their turn to enter one-by-one.
The City Council studied the question in 2019 and adopted zoning rules in September 2020. A trio of protests have emerged since then, but each died out quickly.
However, while allowing the marijuana marts, the council as a whole has acted with caution. By comparison, Bay City was home to 16 shops before Saginaw had its first.
City planners crafted a 1,000-foot minimum distance from schools that are open and operating, but the limit is only 100 feet from churches. Zoning officials said there are too many churches for a stricter rule in that regard.
At Sozo Saginaw, trained and educated staffers are on hand to answer questions, providing in-depth consultations and advice on product selections, says Aaron Rasty, founding owner and CEO of Sozo Health.
“We offer many varieties, with differences in the effect profile, duration and price,” he notes.
The facility is well-lit and security always is on hand, he says.
Active THC content may come through smoking, vaping, or eating. Cannabis-laced brownies and cookies sometimes were home-produced during the illegal years. They now are offered as edibles, along with gummies and chocolate bars and other candy, as more consumers opt to avoid the lung damage that comes from smoking. The THC effect in the bloodstream is slower to arrive but is longer-lasting, according to research studies.
The impact on local budgets is not as large as many advocates had promised during the statewide vote, but sums are increasing. Saginaw’s share this year will be around $360,000, or $60,000 apiece for the six stores.
The one “sin tax” that is more severe than the 10 percent for marijuana is $2 for a pack of regular cigarettes and 32 percent for other forms of nicotine. State annual collections, rounded off, are:
- $1.3 billion for lottery
- $1.2 billion for gasoline
- $830 million for tobacco
- $130 for beer, liquor, wine
- $111 million for marijuana
This does not mean pot has become nearly as common as booze. The closeness in the dollar figures is because the tax for a Bud remains far lower than for bud, so to speak. But the usage gap is narrowing.
The next Council meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 6. Protests may come from the Saginaw County Prevention Coalition, which began as the Family Youth Initiative when Faye Harrison still was a juvenile judge. Joyce Seals is the current chairwoman.
