NILES CHARTER TOWNSHIP — As board members discussed whether to consider opting in to allowing medical marijuana businesses within Niles Charter Township limits, a need for reputable, well-researched information on medical marijuana’s public effects became a continuous talking point.

About 40 minutes of discussion on medical marijuana took place during the 70-minute meeting Monday at the Niles Charter Township Building Department, 320 Bell St. Board members ultimately decided to follow the proposal Jim Stover proposed early in the conversation and repeatedly mentioned: create a running document of questions first, then seek answers.

Trustee Chris Vella and treasurer Jim Ringler were vocal during the meeting. Both said they wanted to have a clear understanding of the effects an opt in on medical marijuana businesses could have on the community. The board realized, though, that obtaining such information would be difficult because other Michigan municipalities are just now allowing medical marijuana facilities.

“Buchanan, … it’s taken them two years to get one place open,” Ringler said. “When you look at it from a board standpoint and say, ‘How does it impact my community?’ I don’t think there’s any communities that it’s impacted yet because there’s nothing open.”

Ringler continued by saying the only impact felt is on the municipal governments when they take on organizing ordinances, hearings and applications for medical marijuana businesses. He said that the city of Niles spent many hours organizing.

Vella and Ringler both wanted information on medical marijuana’s impacts on public safety departments, the economy, finances, education and health.

Ringler suggested reaching out to municipalities in states that have legalized marijuana, recreational or medical, and ask them about the drug facts. Clerk Terry Eull said that the municipalities could only offer opinions. Ringler responded saying the opinions were likely good ones, and he wants to have them before deciding on whether to opt in.

“Once you do, there’s no turning back,” Ringler said. “You’re in. Once you’ve committed, you’ve committed. But I think that’s important, all that information.”

Representatives of medical marijuana-related fields were in attendance. They answered questions posed by board members, offered insights into the ways communities have been impacted by medical marijuana and gave suggestions on ways to obtain information.

Cass County resident Drew Lee represented Arbors Wellness, a medical marijuana provisioning center in Ann Arbor that he said was the first facility to gain licensure through the state. Lee has experience opening three centers in three municipalities.

Lee said he was willing to share Arbors Wellness’ insights with the board, from tax information to facility infrastructure.

“If you wanted to come, we would open our books to you and see the development of how our process has went and even how it has been,” he said. “We have the most history when it comes to licensed dispensary provisioning centers.”

Ringler said he still thought Arbors Wellness’ history in Ann Arbor was too short, as the center only opened as a licensed facility in 2018. He said he also wants to know about the city of Ann Arbor’s perspective.

“I’m trying to figure out how your business impacts everything,” he said.

“What we’re seeing in Ann Arbor is a black market increase,” said Lee. “We have a lot of people who are just still growing because they don’t want to pay the price that is in the dispensary. The lack of dispensaries makes it more obtainable for the black market.”

Lee used the Niles Township area as an example. If Buchanan and Niles have medical marijuana dispensaries but Niles Township does not, then people who do not or cannot pay dispensary prices will turn to Niles Township to build up a black market.

By creating multiple medical marijuana dispensaries in multiple communities, the black market would lessen, he said.

After some board members voiced confusion as to how more dispensaries leads to less black market, Matt Johnson of Niles’ Lush Lighting hydroponics joined in the conversation.

“Economics 101. The more competition you have, the lower it drives prices down, the lower the price, the less the black market can affect the industry,” he said.

Once competition lowers dispensary prices so that they are close to black market prices, there will be no more black market, Johnson continued.

The township is currently opted out of medical marijuana facilities in municipal limits. Monday’s discussion follows a May 20 board meeting, where members opted out of recreational marijuana facilities in municipal limits. The decision was made after residents voiced opposition to the opt-out during board meetings prior.

During Monday’s board meeting, Eull reminded the board that the people of Niles Township voted for recreational marijuana during the 2018 election and the township voted against them.

“We have a vote of the people,” he said.

“You had more voters do that, but they also voted at the same time that this board gets to decide,” Ringler said. “Not them.”

“I don’t think they have a clue,” Vella said.