--- title: Michigan Towns Oppose More Cannabis Stores description: Michigan's border towns are pushing back against the proliferation of cannabis stores, with voters imposing limits to maintain local quality of life amidst industry growth. image: https://420intel.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20depicts%20a%20rural%20landscape%20in%20Niles%20Township%20Michigan%20where%20a%20long%20straight%20road%20is%20lined%20with%20a%20mix%20of%20quaint%20storefronts%20and%20expansive%20fiel.png --- [![420intel.com](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Asset%2016-1.png?width=300&height=162&name=Asset%2016-1.png "420intel.com")](https://420intel.com) - [Home](https://420intel.com) - [Advertise](https://420intel.com/advertise) - [Directory](https://420intel.com/directory) - [Topics](https://420intel.com/blog) - [Recreational News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) - [Business News](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-business-news) - [Politics](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-politics) - [Technology](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-technology-news) - [Research](https://420intel.com/tag/medical-cannabis-news) - [Contact](https://420intel.com/contact-us) - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/420-intel/) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://x.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) ### Press ESC to close [![420intel.com](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Asset%2016-1.png?width=300&height=162&name=Asset%2016-1.png "420intel.com")](https://420intel.com) - [Home](https://420intel.com) - [Advertise](https://420intel.com/advertise) - [Directory](https://420intel.com/directory) - [Topics](https://420intel.com/blog) - [Recreational News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) - [Business News](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-business-news) - [Politics](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-politics) - [Technology](https://420intel.com/tag/cannabis-technology-news) - [Research](https://420intel.com/tag/medical-cannabis-news) - [Contact](https://420intel.com/contact-us) - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/420-intel/) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://x.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) # Michigan Towns Oppose More Cannabis Stores - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - [Recreational Cannabis News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) - 13 November 2025 In the summer, the board in mostly rural Niles Township gave a preliminary OK to 21 **cannabis stores** along one road currently dotted with businesses and surrounded by farmland. On Tuesday, Nov. 4, voters rejected them all. Nearly 6 in 10 voters in the township along Michigan’s border with Indiana approved a ballot measure prohibiting any **cannabis stores** from opening there. Many residents said they didn’t want to see their township look like the rest of Berrien County, where 27 pot shops operate, including seven in the neighboring city of Niles. That vote  and another on Nov. 4 limiting marijuana stores in the Upper Peninsula city of Menominee, along the Wisconsin border come at a time of uncertainty for Michigan’s cannabis industry. Pot has proliferated across Michigan  there are now more than 850 **cannabis stores** across 75 of Michigan’s 83 counties  and that has driven down prices, prompting one of the biggest cannabis retailers to exit the state this year. State lawmakers have imposed a new 24% wholesale tax passed as part of a road-funding deal, and some lawmakers want to limit the number of marijuana businesses statewide. Recreational retailers sold about $251 million in product in September, according to the latest state figures, down from a peak of $294 million in August 2024, even as the state issued dozens of additional retail licenses since then. The exploding number of **cannabis stores** has been especially concentrated in mostly small, rural border towns, where the stores draw sometimes hundreds of customers a day from states where the drug remains illegal. On a per-capita basis, Michigan’s border counties have two or three times the number of dispensaries as interior counties. Nathan Joyal, who opened the Upper Peninsula’s first marijuana storefront and now works as an assistant professor teaching about cannabis at Northern Michigan University, said last Tuesday’s votes did not surprise him. “I don’t know that ‘pushing back,’ per se, is how I would phrase it,” Joyal said. “I think it’s about establishing limits.” Brian Long told Bridge Michigan on Friday that he moved out of the city of Niles to neighboring Niles Township last summer because he lived next to a marijuana grow facility in the city and the stench was so bad his food used to taste like it. He said dispensaries are owned by out-of-towners and cater to out-of-staters. Dispensary owners say they work hard to be good partners with their communities, employing local people and donating to local causes, in addition to the tax revenue they provide.   “If you’re not a proponent of marijuana — or even if you do use marijuana — at some point, you say, ‘Enough is enough. We don’t need any more pot shops,'” said lifelong Menominee resident Fred Hofer Jr. On Nov. 4, nearly 8 in 10 voters OK’d a nine-dispensary cap. However, two dispensaries Puff Cannabis and Highwire Farms each say they have city approval to open as the ninth allowable storefront. Puff has sued. **Cannabis stores** remain at the center of community debates, highlighting tensions between economic opportunity and local quality of life. Michigan’s border towns continue to grapple with how many **cannabis stores** are too many.   [by Insurance Journal](https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/midwest/2025/11/13/847304.htm)   [Recreational Cannabis News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/recreational-cannabis-news) ![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=200&height=200&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) #### [Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) At 420 Intel, we cover cannabis legalization news throughout the world, offer reliable information for cannabis business owners, detail technological advances that impact the marijuana industry, cover marijuana rallies from across the globe, and everything in between. - - - [Cannabis Business News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-business-news) [![Ohio Cannabis Market Soars To $76M In Less Than 2 Months But Michigan Remains The Leader](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Screenshot%202024-10-03%20at%208.47.01%20AM.png?width=550&height=395&name=Screenshot%202024-10-03%20at%208.47.01%20AM.png)](https://420intel.com/blog/ohio-cannabis-market-soars-to-76m-in-less-than-2-months-but-michigan-remains-the-leader) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 3 October 2024 #### [Ohio Cannabis Market Soars To $76M In Less Than 2 Months But Michigan Remains The Leader](https://420intel.com/blog/ohio-cannabis-market-soars-to-76m-in-less-than-2-months-but-michigan-remains-the-leader) ## When Ohio recreational cannabis shops officially opened their doors on Aug. 6, sales zoomed to over... [Cannabis Business News](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-business-news) [![Overgrown: Southwest Michigan’s Booming Cannabis Industry](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20captures%20a%20busy%20street%20scene%20in%20New%20Buffalo%20Township%20Michigan%20during%20the%20bustling%20420%20cannabis%20holiday%20A%20long%20line%20of%20eager%20customers%20stretches%20out%20the%20door%20of%20a%20brightly%20lit%20dispensary%20with%20colorful%20banners%20advertising%20significant%20discount-3.jpeg?width=550&height=395&name=The%20image%20captures%20a%20busy%20street%20scene%20in%20New%20Buffalo%20Township%20Michigan%20during%20the%20bustling%20420%20cannabis%20holiday%20A%20long%20line%20of%20eager%20customers%20stretches%20out%20the%20door%20of%20a%20brightly%20lit%20dispensary%20with%20colorful%20banners%20advertising%20significant%20discount-3.jpeg)](https://420intel.com/blog/overgrown-southwest-michigans-booming-cannabis-industry) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 16 May 2025 #### [Overgrown: Southwest Michigan’s Booming Cannabis Industry](https://420intel.com/blog/overgrown-southwest-michigans-booming-cannabis-industry) BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- The cannabis industry is budding all over the U.S, and Michigan is cashing... [Cannabis Politics](https://420intel.com/blog/tag/cannabis-politics) [![Michigan Marijuana sales increase as Ohio joins the Recreational Cannabis market](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Michigan%20Marijuana%20sales%20increase%20as%20Ohio%20joins%20the%20Recreational%20Cannabis%20market.jpg?width=550&height=395&name=Michigan%20Marijuana%20sales%20increase%20as%20Ohio%20joins%20the%20Recreational%20Cannabis%20market.jpg)](https://420intel.com/blog/michigan-marijuana-sales-increase-ohio-joins-recreational-cannabis-market) - [![Buzz](https://420intel.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png?width=80&height=80&name=Buzz-No%20Outline-2.png) Buzz](https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz) - 16 September 2024 #### [Michigan Marijuana sales increase as Ohio joins the Recreational Cannabis market](https://420intel.com/blog/michigan-marijuana-sales-increase-ohio-joins-recreational-cannabis-market) ## Ohio’s Legal Marijuana Sales Begin, but Michigan's Cannabis Market Remains Strong. As recreational... - [Follow us on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/420intel) - [Follow us on LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Twitter](https://twitter.com/420intel) - [Follow us on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/420intel) Back to Top ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Buzz", "url" : "https://420intel.com/blog/author/buzz" }, "dateModified" : "2025-11-13T15:54:45.417Z", "datePublished" : "2025-11-13T15:54:45.000Z", "headline" : "Michigan Towns Oppose More Cannabis Stores", "image" : [ "https://420intel.com/hubfs/AI-Generated%20Media/Images/The%20image%20depicts%20a%20rural%20landscape%20in%20Niles%20Township%20Michigan%20where%20a%20long%20straight%20road%20is%20lined%20with%20a%20mix%20of%20quaint%20storefronts%20and%20expansive%20fiel.png" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://420intel.com/blog/michigan-towns-oppose-more-cannabis-stores", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://420intel.com/hubfs/Asset%2016.png" }, "name" : "420 Intel" } } ```