COMMITTEE ON POT ORDINANCE TO BE FORMED

ST. JOSEPH - The St. Joseph Township Board voted Monday to form a
committee to develop a medical marijuana ordinance to govern
instances in which people receive permits from the state to grow and
use marijuana.

Michigan voters decided in November that marijuana can be legally
grown and used for specific medical conditions, but township Trustee
Ron Griffin said the state referendum is not complete.

"There's some holes in the current state laws that need to be
addressed on the local level, such as where the sale and growth (of
marijuana) is located," he said. "We at the local level need to address that."

Griffin gave board members a copy of a medical marijuana ordinance
being considered by Niles, which had its first reading on April 27.

The state's medical marijuana program began accepting applications
April 6. Anyone growing marijuana in the state must be registered in
this program. According to the state, only the patient or the
patient's primary caregiver can grow the marijuana, and there is no
place in Michigan where marijuana can legally be sold. But the
state does not specify where or how the marijuana can be grown.

The ordinance being considered by Niles sets several additional
guidelines for marijuana growers and users. It states that marijuana
can't be consumed in public and can only be grown inside an enclosed
structure with walls and a roof and secured with locks. The location
from which the primary caregiver provides services can't be within
1,000 feet of a drug-free school zone.

Township Supervisor Roger Seely said the township is in no hurry to
draft an ordinance. He will decide within the next month how many
people will be on the committee after he talks with Police Chief
Ross Bates for his opinion.

Seely also wants to get the Township Planning Commission involved in
drafting the ordinance. In addition, he said he heard that Lincoln
Township is planning to draft a similar ordinance. He said perhaps
the two communities can work together.