Detroit City Council members moved a petition for a temporary cannabis sales event organized by Green Square Holdings, with JARS Cannabis as the retail licensee, to formal session with a recommendation for approval after city staff and the petitioner described safety, permitting and operational safeguards.

The event organizer told the committee the pop-up would operate from May 23–27 with fenced lots, ID checks requiring attendees to be 21 and over, front- and rear-site security, limited on-site vendors (non-cannabis), and transportation plans to bring product in the morning and remove it in the evening. “We are not having any consumption at all,” Nicole Milton (petitioner) said. “No consumption. Period.”

City special-events and licensing staff explained the approval path. Yakeem Fife, manager of special events in the mayor’s office, said the event was reviewed for safety by Detroit Police Department units, the fire department, buildings and safety, and the city’s cannabis licensing office (CREO). “They did a walk through with the petitioner and made them purchase an additional lot for the spillover of their line,” Fife said. Kim James, identified by the committee as a city director, said the event was processed under state law and the city ordinance for temporary consumption events and that the administration recommended approval because required documentation and licenses were in order.

Council members repeatedly asked whether consumption on the premises would be allowed and whether the application conflicted with that possibility. James said the state law and the city ordinance allow temporary consumption events, but the petitioner and the CRA application documents indicated no on-site consumption for this event. “That was my understanding, that it was going to be consumption because that's allowed under the law,” James said, while also noting the council may impose restrictions.

Members pressed the petitioner on security, cash handling and parking. The petitioner said product would be transported in the morning and picked up in the evening so “we're not leaving any product on-site,” and that security protocols and coordination with police would be in place. On cash handling, the petitioner said protocols were planned and that they would comply with applicable CRA and city requirements; a council member reminded the room that a city cashless-ban ordinance is in effect. Council member Scott Benson said he opposed the application on principle but acknowledged the petitioner had presented a thorough safety plan.

The committee moved the petition (line item 6.5) to formal session with a recommendation for approval. The motion recorded in the transcript did not consistently name the mover; the committee recorded an objection during the motion but ultimately advanced the item.

The committee record shows the petitioner as Green Square Holdings (event organizer) and JARS Cannabis (retailer). The petitioner identified additional operational staff (director of operations Marcel Cattula) as available for follow-up questions and offered to invite council members to visit the site during setup or teardown for inspection.

The action advances the application to the council’s formal session; final conditions or limitations (for example, an explicit ban on on-site consumption or specific cash-handling rules) may be set when the council considers the item in formal session.