Editorial: Sumpter opts out of having marijuana businesses in township

At the Feb. 13 regular meeting of the Sumpter Township Board of Trustees, the board voted 5-2 to opt out of having marijuana as a business in the township.
Before that vote the board also voted 5-2 against setting up 23 marijuana facilities in Sumpter.
The two in favor of having the new Medical Marijuana Facilities Act (MMFLA) and the 23 facilities were Treasurer Peggy Morgan and Trustee Sheena Barnes.
Trustee Barnes had been on the township’s fact-finding committee that has been meeting since November. She was tasked with deciding how many MMFLA facilities the township should allow. She gave an intensive report and reportedly spent $1,600 out of her own pocket to get information to report to the committee.
Treasurer Morgan was not on the committee, but she gathered information on MMFLA and firmly supported Sumpter opting in. She gave a long report on Tuesday before the voting began, hoping to influence the outcome.
The City of Belleville and Van Buren Township have already announced they were opting out of the MMFLA.
Those in the standing-room-only crowd that were opposed to opting in breathed a sigh of relief after the votes, but most of those present left in disappointment.
Several people in the township said they had hoped to use their property to make a lot of money and give jobs to local people.