You can now buy recreational weed in Mount Clemens, even though the city prohibits it

A Mount Clemens dispensary began selling adult-use cannabis on Monday, even though the city doesn’t have an ordinance allowing it.

Pleasantrees tells Metro Times that it’s selling recreational marijuana out of its medical cannabis dispensary.

Mount Clemens officials were surprised to hear the news because the city temporarily rescinded its recreational marijuana ordinance in June.

Turns out, the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) approved a license for Pleasantrees to sell recreational cannabis.

But City Manager Gregg Shipman says he doesn’t understand why state officials would approve the license since Mount Clemens doesn’t have an active ordinance.

“We’re looking into why the state would have given the license without us approving an ordinance,” Shipman tells Metro Times. “We’ll figure it out and make sure that everything is done properly.”

It appears Mount Clemens inadvertently signed off on Pleasantrees’ application for a license.

CRA spokesman David Harns said the state would not have approved the license if city officials didn’t sign off on the application.

“We followed the same procedures we always follow when processing licenses,” Harns tells Metro Times. “That procedure includes checking with municipal officials to make sure an applicant is in compliance with local ordinances.”

Pleasantrees declined to comment on the issue, but said in a statement that it was excited to sell adult-use cannabis in Mount Clemens.

“The opening of our Mount Clemens’ location is a major foundational piece of our successful expansion here in Mount Clemens,” said Randy Buchman, CEO and founder of Pleasantrees. “This location is most certainly a ‘flagship’ for Pleasantrees and will ultimately become a major destination for cannabis consumers far and wide.”

In May, after several years of debate, Mount Clemens approved an ordinance to allow recreational marijuana businesses to open in the city. But the process led to clashes among prospective cannabis business owners, so the city put the ordinance on hold, citing public safety issues.

It’s unclear why Pleasantrees applied for a recreational permit when the ordinance wasn’t active.

This isn’t the first time Pleasantrees clashed with public officials over a dispensary. Pleasantrees opened the first recreational dispensary in Hamtramck, prompting outcry from the city’s majority Muslim city council.

Pleasantrees didn’t violate any laws because Hamtramck failed to opt out of recreational marijuana, which is required under state law, leaving the city with little to no recourse.

What happens next in Mount Clemens is anyone’s guess. For now, Pleasantrees has a recreational marijuana license, even if there’s no ordinance allowing the sale of recreational cannabis.

Pleasantrees is located inside the former Gibraltar Trade Center.

Coming soon: Metro Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting Detroit stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.

Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter