A Detroit restaurant has posted a warning on social media urging potential customers not to ignore its "business casual" dress code, and for anyone who reeks of weed to steer clear of the venue, even though smoking cannabis is legal in Michigan.
‘Strong odors are unacceptable,’ the Facebook post by the owner of Caucus Club Detroit reads.
The message also reminds customers that wearing “hoodies, jerseys, ball caps and sneakers” will be frowned upon.
"The smell of cannabis, and it's very rare, it's probably once a week, but somebody will come in and either on their person or maybe they partook in some...it's so pungent that it can clear a room," George Sboukis said.
According to Sboukis, amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic people in Detroit have slipped into rather “lax” personal habits.
He added:
“I feel like it’s just a lack of self-awareness and a lack of, just respect for other guests in the room. We all have to be respectful of each other’s desires and wanting to have a good time."
While some people agree with the owner, others have reproached the overly “combative tone” adopted by Sboukis.
Formerly frequented by politicians and celebrities, the bar closed in 2012 after changing hands several times.
Reopened in 2017, the venue praises itself on its “renewed spirit for excellence in hospitality.”
In Michigan, only adults over the age of 21 can use cannabis legally, while it is illegal to use cannabis in public.
Supporters of legalisation argue that it eliminates the blowback from marijuana prohibition, such as hundreds of thousands of arrests around the US and the billions of dollars funnelled from the black market for illicit marijuana to drug cartels. Opponents, however, claim that legalisation fuels a marijuana industry that can market the drug irresponsibly.