Monthly Archives: March 2019

Opioid Deaths in Southeastern Michigan Continue to Rise

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In 2017, according to data from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, both Macomb and Wayne counties had the highest rate of opioid related deaths per 10,000 residents. Both counties had an opioid related death rate of 3.27. In our region, Oakland County had the lowest opioid related death rate in 2017 at 0.38.

When examining the sheer total of opioid related deaths between 2012 and 2017 we see that Wayne County not only had the highest total number of deaths each year, but also the largest increase. Between 2012 and 2017 Wayne County had an increase of 335 in the number of opioid related deaths. Macomb County had the second highest total number of opioid related deaths each year in the region, growing from 132 in 2012 to 285 in 2017. Macomb and Wayne counties were the only two in the region with opioid deaths totaling more than 100 each year.

Just last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg stood inside a Macomb County fire and rescue building to report that the State of Michigan was a recipient of a $10 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies to combat the opioid crisis. Through this grant, and various partnerships, high-impact, state-based interventions with a focus on identifying novel approaches to address gaps in current treatment and prevention programs,” will occur. Programs already in place in Michigan to combat the opioid crisis include expanding the distribution of naloxone (a drug used to counter-act opioid overdoses) into the community, a Michigan State Police program that allows victims of addiction to walk into any MSP post and get help without fear of being criminally charged and providing access to real-time information on prescription data and analytics of controlled substances for prescribers and pharmacists.

Metro-Detroit Economic Indicators

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In December of 2018 the unemployment rate for the State of Michigan was 4.1, an increase from the November unemployment rate of 3.4, according to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. The State unemployment rate for December of 2017 was 0.6 points below what it was in December of 2018 (4.7). Since April of 2018 the data shows that the unemployment rate for the State essentially leveled out around 4, except when it dropped to 3.4 in November.

The Detroit rate was 0.5 points higher in December of 2018 from the previous month. Also, the December 2018 unemployment rate for Detroit was 0.1 points lower than what it was in December of 2017.

The chart above displays the unemployment rates for each of the seven counties in Southeastern Michigan for December of 2017 and 2018. In December of 2018 Wayne County had the highest unemployment rate at 4.9, with St. Clair County having the second highest regional unemployment rate 4.7. Livingston, Oakland and Washtenaw counties were the only three in the region with unemployment rates below 4 in December of 2018. The unemployment rate for Livingston County was 3.3, the unemployment rate for Oakland County was 3.3 and the unemployment rate for Washtenaw County was 3.1.

When comparing 2017 and 2018, Monroe, Washtenaw and Wayne counties were the only three in the region to experience a decrease in unemployment. Wayne County had the largest decrease at 0.9 points. Livingston, Macomb and St. Clair counties all experienced an increase from 2017 to 2019. Livingston County had the largest increase at 0.2.

The above chart shows the Standard and Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index for the Detroit Metropolitan Statistical Area. The index includes the price for homes that have sold but does not include the price of new home construction, condos, or homes that have been remodeled.

According to the index, the average price of single-family dwellings sold in Metro Detroit was $123,550 in December 2018; this was $490 lower than the average family dwelling price in November. The December 2018 price was an increase of $6,210 from December of 2017 and an increase of $13,430 from December of 2016, an increase of $19,780 from December of 2016 and increase of $26,570 from December of 2014.

Communities Continue to Opt Out of Michigan Recreational Marijuana

by Drawing Detroit | Leave a comment

In November of 2018 the State of Michigan legalized recreational marijuana. And, while recreational marijuana facilities have not made their way into any municipality yet (the state has until November 2019 to work out logistics to allow such facilities to operate), several municipalities have already opted out of allowing them. Under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act, every municipality is considered to be “in,” or to allow medical marijuana facilities, unless the elected body of a municipality votes to opt out through an ordinance or resolution (an ordinance is preferred for legal matters). According to the Michigan Department of Legal and Regulatory Affairs, 48 municipalities in Southeastern Michigan have opted out, with the city of Monroe being the first in the state. Even though almost 50 municipalities in Southeastern Michigan, more than 60 in the state of Michigan, have opted out of allowing recreational marijuana, the ordinances that allowed them to opt out can be changed, allowing them to opt back in. As the map below shows, the highest concentration of opt out communities in Southeastern Michigan is in northern Macomb and St. Clair counties. In that area alone there are 12 communities that have already opted out of allowing recreational marijuana facilities. Wayne County has the highest total number of opt out communities at the county level at 13; Macomb County has the second highest number at 10.

Reasons why municipalities have opted out include wanting to wait to see how the state will regulate recreational marijuana facilities, wanting to further amend their own zoning regulations for such facilities and not wanting such facilities within the boundaries of their municipality at all.