Voters in Meridian Township will decide in the upcoming state primary election whether to prohibit or allow recreational marijuana stores in the community.
The ballot asks whether Meridian Township should prohibit adult-use marijuana establishments within the township's boundaries.
This means, if residents don’t want to see recreational marijuana stores in their township they’ll need to vote "yes" on their ballots. Those who do, need to vote "no." Township manager Frank Walsh said the wording is based on the way the question was submitted.
“We’ll see what happens on August 2nd and then the township board would take up the initiative following the voters' decision on August 2nd on whether we’re going to have marijuana shops throughout the community,” he said.
More than half of voters in the township voted to approve Michigan’s 2018 ballot measure legalizing the use of recreational marijuana, and the sale of medicinal marijuana is already allowed in the township.
Walsh said a lot of people in the community have been talking about the initiative, both those in support and those against.
“I mean, there’s some people really concerned about, they feel like, 'There’s marijuana available right next door in East Lansing and Lansing, Bath why do we need it here?,'” Walsh said. “And then there’s people who say, 'Hey, I want to have it and I don’t mind pot shops popping up throughout the town.'”
The state’s primary election is Aug. 2. More information on polling sites in Meridian Townships and absentee ballots can be found here.
