City celebrates a ‘victory’ in chasing away tax dollars

It’s odd that the city considers it a victory to prevent a legal business from operating here.
In this case, this “victory” involves a would-be cannabis dispensary that wanted to open on the site of the former Hamtramck Coney Island, at Jos. Campau and Evaline.
The business owner had already received an initial approval to go ahead with the licensing process, but somewhere along the line they were informed the city was no longer allowing another dispensary to open.
Hamtramck already had four licensed dispensaries operating, and then, in about 2021, the city’s first all-Muslim city council passed a resolution not to allow any more.
Why?
Because the council believed that selling and consuming marijuana was immoral, and also feared more dispensaries could see them become magnets for crime, or that marijuana products could end up in the hands of those who are underage.
As it turns out, the city’s four dispensaries have not attracted crime; in fact, there appears to be little traffic going in and out of the stores at all.
But, more importantly, each dispensary generates about $50,000 a year in taxes and fees for the city – which, when you add it all up, amounts to a pretty good chunk of change, and money that the city sorely needs.
Consider, too, that the city council ended a contract with a parking meter company that will result in the loss of over $200,000 a year in fees and fines, and, on top of that fact, that the city has also recently lost about $1.4 million a year from Wayne County operating a jail here in town.
In short, Hamtramck is in desperate need of revenue to continue funding basic services such as police and fire service, or even something as essential as garbage collection.
We can understand why some folks are against the sale and consumption of marijuana, but, on the other hand, isn’t that a choice that should be left up to each individual?
In other words, if it offends you, then don’t go in there.
The same could be said for the city’s bars and liquor stores that also operate here legally.
We know that, if some elected officials had their way, even alcohol sales would be banned.
What we’re saying is, to each their own – meaning, let people decide where they want to patronize and what they want to consume.
After all, isn’t America all about free markets?
Posted Oct. 31, 2025