US MI: Cities, Townships and Villages Across Genesee County Studying Up on Medical Marijuana Law, Potential Ordinances |
8/29/2010 |
CITIES, TOWNSHIPS AND VILLAGES ACROSS GENESEE COUNTY STUDYING UP ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA LAW, POTENTIAL ORDINANCES GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan - Local governments across the county are playing catch up as the demand to bring medical marijuana businesses here grows. These establishments - from dispensaries to patient and caregiver clubs to medical marijuana schools - could either pump thousands into the local economy or draw crime and lawsuits, depending who you ask. The flood of interest has officials across Genesee County - from the village manager in Otisville to the clerk in Flint Township - scrambling to study up on the state's medical marijuana law and what, if anything, they should pass on a local level to address it. Most communities have more questions - What qualifies as a medical marijuana business? What constitutes a club? How is a dispensary defined? - than answers. A Flint Journal poll of Genesee County's 33 cities, villages and townships found four - Clio, Richfield Township, Grand Blanc Township and Fenton Township - have passed ordinances addressing the medical marijuana law. Nine passed temporary moratoriums while they figure out an ordinance. Nineteen have passed nothing. In Flint, voters passed an ordinance in 2007 allowing medical marijuana, even before it was legal in the state. But almost every community is talking about it and many officials say they plan on adopting something. "There's definitely an explosion of interest in this," Jeremy Rupinski, co-founder and director of the Genesee County Compassion Club. "People are looking at this like an economic opportunity," he added. At the Genesee Township club, state-registered patients can smoke together, try different varieties of pot and share information. The group has grown to 1,800 members in less than a year. Rupinski and other compassion club officials have visited "numerous town councils" this summer to educate and field questions from local governments. It's easy to see the drug's cash crop potential - 24,831 across the state have been approved to use medical marijuana since the law took effect last year. "There are a number of communities in the last two or three weeks that have chosen to put in place a moratorium," said Bill Mathewson, an attorney with the Michigan Municipal League, an Ann Arbor-based non-profit that provides resources and training for local governments. The MML is one of many places township attorneys, city managers and other officials have turned to this summer to learn about the law. An MML event for September is titled "Medical Marihuana Act and Your Community." It's a confusing issue and even those that have taken action sometimes are befuddled by the dos and don'ts of medical marijuana. In July, for example, Flint Township officials attempted to shut down a new business that hosts classes on medical pot. The business violated a township moratorium on "medical marijuana uses," officials said. Only after the owner showed up at a board meeting explaining that no pot was allowed on-site did trustees reverse the decision. "This is very new and a lot is still unknown as to how best cope with the law at the local level," Mathewson said. But some say attempts to sort through that vagueness have crossed the line. Local ordinances across the state have "become a real problem that we're looking at," said Rana Elmir, communications director with the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. The ACLU in July sent letters to Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, asking them to rescind ordinances they say ban legal use of medical marijuana. Those ordinances ban medical marijuana by saying residents can't break federal law, Elmir said. It's a loophole some local governments have taken to enact the strictest possible restriction - outlawing medical marijuana - but, so far, no Genesee County communities haven't taken this route. An ordinance amending the city of Clio's zoning rules might come closest - but doesn't target residents. "All businesses must comply with local, state and federal law," Clio Police Chief James McLellan said of the ordinance. Fenton Township decided to cope with it by banning primary caregivers from operating outside their home or growing with another primary caregiver. Primary caregivers are licensed to grow and provide medical marijuana to licensed patients. The township's law will keep dispensaries out of the neighborhood. Township resident Dave Adams sees the point of the ordinance, but doesn't think medical marijuana businesses would pose too much a threat in his south Genesee County neighborhood. "It doesn't bother me one way or the other," he said. The medical marijuana law voters approved in 2008 is vague. And vague laws lead to lawsuits. "The act is so loosely written and so nebulous and open to interpretation that there's going to be ton's of law suits," said Davison Township supervisor Kurt Soper. Davison Township has a moratorium banning medical marijuana while they fashion an ordinance, Soper said. "If there's one theme in this entire conversation it's that the statute's incredibly vague," said Adam Zettel, zoning administrator in Swartz Creek, which has not yet considered an ordinance. Both Rupinski and the ACLU said some local control is reasonable. It's an issue communities may no other choice but to take some ownership of. "I really think the best option is that it is locally owned and locally regulated," Rupinski said. And, whatever local communities do, it looks like medical marijuana question isn't going away. Rupinski said he knows people who are interested in launching some type of business - from equipment shops to dispensaries - but are waiting on local govenrnments to make up their minds. "I talk to people like that every day," he said. [sidebar] HERE'S A LOOK AT HOW GENESEE COUNTY COMMUNITIES HAVE RESPONDED TO THE POSSIBILITY OF BUSINESSES RELATED TO MEDICAL MARIJUANA COMING TO THEIR AREA. Already Allowed Flint Ordinance Restricting Them Clio Fenton Township Grand Blanc Township Richfield Township Temporary Moratorium Atlas Township Davison Township Fenton Flint Township Lennon Montrose Township Otisville Otter Lake Vienna Township No Action Argentine Township Burton Clayton Township Davison Flushing Forest Township Gaines Gaines Township Goodrich Grand Blanc Flushing Township Genesee Township Linden Montrose Mount Morris Swartz Creek Mount Morris Township Mundy Township Thetford Township |
Back To News Listing |