The Commission Chambers at Marquette City Hall was filled with people Monday night to address the matter.

The ordinance prohibiting recreational marijuana establishments passed with Mayor Pro Tem Sarah Reynolds and commissioners Jenna Smith and Jenn Hill opposing the motion. The four remaining commissioners all supported the motion.

Since 62 percent of Marquette residents voted in favor of Proposal 1 — the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act — in November, Smith said she wouldn’t be voting in favor of the ordinance.

“I think we really need to support what the residents voted for on the ballot,” she said.

REYNOLDS

Hill and Reynolds agreed.

“City staff is working diligently on this, but the public process is not clear,” Hill said, asking for more public input in the future.

Reynolds said she’s read about people considering to start small businesses where they sell T-shirts or other items, and give away marijuana to customers since the act states it can be given away as a gift, but not sold by any entity other than a recreational establishment.

The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, or LARA, is responsible for establishing recreational marijuana regulations and licenses. The department has a deadline of Dec. 6 to have applications available for commercial establishments.

Over 200 Michigan municipalities have chosen to tentatively opt out of allowing commercial marijuana establishments in their region and wait until LARA establishes the regulations.

Commissioner Dave Campana said he’s opposed to allowing commercial businesses in the meantime because it would occupy city administration time.

“If someone wanted to put a store in the city, we would be forced to accommodate them,” he said. “We don’t have rules and regulations to govern that. That could lead to legal liabilities to the city.”

Commissioner Pete Frazier echoed Campana’s thoughts and said he’d like to wait and see what the state comes up with.

While Commissioner Paul Schloegel voted in favor of the ordinance, he also made a motion to schedule a future work session and public hearing to discuss the matter with fellow commissioners and the public. That motion passed unanimously.

Several students of Northern Michigan University’s medicinal plant chemistry program attended the meeting, most of them stating they moved to the area to enroll in the program.

Some of the students said there’s a concern over a lack of internships available for the degree in the area. If there were more opportunities, it would be an easy way to retain students after they graduated.

NMU student Cesar Escobar suggested the commission “bring more people to the table” to discuss the issue further and that there are a lot of valuable resources in the region, especially since NMU’s program has over 200 students enrolled, with those numbers expected to climb in upcoming semesters.

Cody Mayer, president of NMU’s student government organization, said “to opt out is to ignore the will of the people” since constituents voted to legalize pot. Others read off statistics claiming methamphetamine charges decreased in states shortly after they legalized marijuana.

The commission also passed the Marquette Harbor Lighthouse park plan despite recent rejection from the Marquette Planning Commission and surrounding neighbors.

Jaymie Depew can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 206.