05-03-2025
Detroit has new marijuana advertising restrictions: What to know about ordinance
Marijuana advertisements near schools and other places children congregate will no longer be allowed after the Detroit City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday.
The ordinance, co-sponsored by City Council members Scott Benson and Angela Whitfield-Calloway, prohibits advertisements for marijuana and electronic nicotine delivery system products (vapes) from being within a 1,000-foot radius of certain locations where children are likely present.
"When children are exposed to this type of advertising, it normalizes the use of marijuana and vaping products," Benson said in a press release announcing the ordinance's approval. "The impact of these advertisements extends beyond immediate health risks. It also creates a perception of social acceptance and influences peer pressure."
Below are answers to some common questions about the new ordinance.
Advertisements for marijuana and vaping products can't be near places where children congregate, such as child care centers, child-caring institutions, parks, libraries, playgrounds, playlots, playing fields, recreation centers and juvenile detention or correctional facilities.
The ordinance only applies to billboards, Whitfield Calloway's office told the Free Press. It does not apply to airplanes pulling advertising banners and mobile LED billboard trucks, for example.
Benson said the ordinance is in response to concerns raised by Detroit Public Schools Community District Superintendent Nikolai Vitti about the proliferation of marijuana in schools in recent years.
While the new ordinance was unanimously approved, Council member Coleman Young II expressed concerns.
"I think it's too far, but it's not a hill I want to die on," Young II said during the meeting Tuesday. "It still smacks of like Devil's Lettuce and people who believe that 'Reefer Madness' is based on a true story," Young said, referring to a slang term for cannabis and a 1936-era movie about high school students who are pushed to try marijuana, become addicted and commit crimes.
Violating the ordinance is a criminal offense with a fine up to $500 and up to 90 days in jail.
The new ordinance will go into effect in the coming weeks once it is published, according to a city of Detroit press release.
Yes. After recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan in 2018, Detroit officials took several years to craft an ordinance allowing recreational cannabis sales in the city. Recreational marijuana sales officially started in Detroit in early 2023. Since then, more than 50 recreational marijuana dispensaries have opened in the city.
More on the marijuana industry: Michigan to distribute nearly $100M in marijuana tax revenue: What your city will get
Yes. After Council member Mary Waters said that she was frustrated with gas stations that sell minors vapes, Whitfield-Calloway said she wanted to work with Detroit Public Schools to look at installing smoke detectors in school bathrooms to detect vaping.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit has new marijuana advertising ordinance: Restrictions to know
