Mottville Township voters to decide Nov. 3 whether to ban the township's two dispensaries

Voters in Mottville Township, in Michigan's St. Joseph County, will decide Nov. 3 on a proposed ordinance that would ban marijuana establishments in the township, WWMT News Channel 3 reported.

If passed, the Mottville Township Prohibition of Marihuana Establishments Ordinance would prohibit the township's two dispensaries, Highatus and The Dude Abides, and any future dispensaries from operating there, according to WWMT. Both shops are near the Indiana-Michigan border and opened less than a year ago, the station reported. The township's website says the maximum number of retail marijuana establishment licenses has been approved and that no licenses are available.

According to the township clerk, 29 signatures were required to put the measure on the ballot and more than 70 were submitted, WWMT reported in a correction to its story.

Cass Root, owner of The Dude Abides, told WWMT that more than half of the shop's customers still come from out of state, including Ohio and Illinois, and that those customers also spend money at local restaurants, gas stations and other businesses. WWMT reported that Michigan recently paid local governments about $54,000 per qualifying dispensary license, which Root said could help ease property taxes. The station reported that the shop has about 30 employees, and Root said some would lose their jobs if it closed.

Residents who support the ordinance told WWMT they did not get a say before the dispensaries opened. "We're not saying we don't want marijuana dispensaries in Mottville Township, we're saying, this should have been talked about," one resident told the station. Neighbors living near The Dude Abides said living so close to a marijuana store was not part of their idea of a rural lifestyle.