Detroit councilwoman wants to restrict where weed can be advertised

Are rules on advertising weed coming to Detroit?

One councilmember wants restrictions on where billboards can advertise cannabis products around the city, prohibiting them from being near schools and daycare facilities.

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Advertising for cannabis products like flower and edibles has exploded in Michigan since the state legalized recreational marijuana for adults, and no where is that more evident than along the highways of metro Detroit.

The iconic pot leaf graces some billboards while others celebrate popular brands that own dispensaries that dot the Southeast Michigan landscape. And then there's the Mark Savaya Collection with its green, purple, and yellow color schemes.

"This is how we make our business," Savaya told FOX 2.

He owns seven provisioning centers and is preparing to open two more.

With Detroit among the cities that also offers recreational pot sales, many of Savaya's 30 billboards line major roads going in and out of the city. But some who sit on the city council think the saturation of marijuana advertising has gone too far.

"It’s an over-proliferation of cannabis billboards in this city, and everybody knows it," said Angela Whitfield Calloway.

Calloway intends to bring regulations for marijuana advertising up to the city council before the end of the year. Her ideal regulation of the messaging would be to restrict them from being within a thousand feed of parks, recreation centers, libraries, churches and schools.

The proposed ordinance is about protecting kids from being influenced - but what does the business community think?

"Let me ask you something, the majority of these billboards are on highways so they’re not near any daycare or anything like that - I don’t think so," said Savaya.

"I don't know if that's true or not. That's what he says, but we’re gonna find out," Calloway responded.

For Savaya's point, he would have no issue keeping the billboards away from schools and daycare. But even with the appearance of agreement, the business owner is surprised to be hearing about potential regulations.

"I don’t know why they’re coming up with this all of a sudden. This has been coming up for the past 10 years. And now they just don’t like it."

The advertising ordinance can expect a vote by the end of the year.