A Detroit city councilman, worried about an influx of medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, wants state lawmakers to help give local governments the tools to regulate them.

Since medical marijuana was legalized by voters in 2008, dispensaries have opened up in Detroit at an alarming rate, according to Councilman James Tate.

Tate estimates there are 180 dispensaries in 149 square miles of the city, describing it as an "oversaturation."

Detroit is "in limbo in terms of our ability to enforce the law" due to the "gray area that doesn't allow for dispensaries to really exist," Tate said.

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