CITIES TRY TO BLOCK MEDICINAL POT SALES

Some Communities Devise Tough Rules As State Law Leaves Gray Area on
Distribution

Medical marijuana is legal in Michigan, but communities across the
state are putting up barriers to block entrepreneurs from setting up
shop in what critics say is a clear attempt to subvert the law.

Cities are taking vastly different approaches to regulating how
medical pot is dispensed -- from bans in Livonia to months-long
moratoriums on marijuana businesses in Grand Rapids and Saginaw, to
an environment of open mindedness in Hazel Park, where city leaders
see pot dispensaries as a potential revenue source.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan says it is keeping an
eye on the dizzying array of laws popping up across the state as
local leaders from big cities to rural enclaves try to interpret
Michigan's Medical Marijuana Act, which passed in 2008 by 63 percent
and establishes the right of certified patients and caregivers to
possess pot. Patients can legally use it.

One caveat all pot peddlers should know: The act does not address
dispensaries -- places where marijuana can be obtained by certified
patients or their caregivers -- leaving them vulnerable to
interpretation by municipalities.

"A ban is the de-facto law regardless of what a city would pass.
There is no protection for dispensaries," said Brandy Zink, executive
director of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association.

In October, President Barack Obama instructed the Justice Department
to cease raids on medical dispensaries in 13 states where medical
marijuana laws have been passed. Still, many Michigan communities
have enacted restrictions on growers or those with hopes of starting
a business in the emerging field.

From Bans to 'Pot Zones'

In Livonia, the City Council amended an ordinance to say any business
in violation of local, state or federal law is prohibited. The words
"medical marijuana" are absent from the ordinance, yet Livonia Police
Chief Bob Stevenson said from conversations he's had with federal
drug officials, dispensing marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Stevenson said the new ordinance, passed in July, prohibits marijuana
dispensaries from obtaining a license to operate in the Wayne County suburb.

"We don't want to be in the position of sanctioning something that is
in violation of federal law," Stevenson said. "These dispensaries are
a business -- a million-dollars business ... because it's such a
valuable crop. It's worth a lot."

Royal Oak, a progressive Oakland county suburb, was on the verge on
creating a "pot zone" along Woodward Avenue where growers could open
shop. But after the police chief got wind of Livonia's ordinance, the
city is considering following Livonia's lead and banning dispensaries.

Michael Steinberg of the ACLU said his office stands ready to
challenge any ordinance that conflicts with state law. Steinberg
reviewed the Livonia ordinance and said it does not ban dispensaries,
according to his interpretation.

"The state has occupied the field in regulating medical marijuana,
and these municipalities simply can't regulate it," Steinberg said.
"We have patients and caregivers who are following the law. And it's
the city and municipalities who are flouting it."

Hazel Park, a blue-collar inner-ring suburb of Oakland County, is one
community considering a different approach for medical marijuana as a business.

City Manager Ed Klobucher said the city has been approached by
several groups who are interested in creating a business enterprise
for medical marijuana in the city.

Proposal to Be Considered

Talks have just begun, and the City Council is expected to soon
consider a business proposal for a medical marijuana facility that
incorporates a clinic, school and marijuana pickup site where
patients can smoke it in the industrial business district.

Medical marijuana cannot be sold to patients under the law, but
caregivers who provide the plant in medicinal form are allowed to be
compensated for their services.

City Councilman Andy LeCureaux said he has shown a few large-scale
industrial buildings to business groups interested in setting up shop
in the city.

"We have some industrial sites which would be ideal for a secure grow
facility. The people who have approached us have business degrees.
They all want it to be above-board legal with community support," he said.

LeCureaux said Hazel Park needs to amend its zoning laws to make a
medical marijuana facility an allowable use outright or make it
allowable with a variance.

"For our community I'm looking at this for economic development and
stabilizing home values. Some patients, if they see a community which
is friendly toward that plight, they may want to relocate to that
community," said LeCureaux, who knows two people who have moved from
Ohio to his city in hopes it will become marijuana friendly.

In Grand Rapids, city leaders have enacted a six-month moratorium on
medical marijuana distribution until the city's planning commission
can come up with rules for it.

City Planning Director Suzanne Schulz, who has proposed allowing
dispensation only from medical facilities and homes, and banning
stand-alone dispensaries, said the focus is on controlling the number
of dispensaries so they don't proliferate as they did in Los Angeles.

In January, Los Angeles will consider an ordinance to reduce the
number of dispensaries -- estimated at 1,000 -- and push them out of
neighborhoods and into industrial areas.

"The challenge for me was balancing the police position with state
law and the concerns of neighborhoods and zoning law decisions. The
concern from the planning commission is we don't want neighborhoods
to turn into distributions centers," Schulz said.

Schulz said Grand Rapids wants to create an ordinance that can be
adopted by surrounding communities.

"For local communities, there is not an option of not doing anything.
You need to pass a moratorium or come up with some language that
discusses these dispensaries," she said. "You have to provide some
protection to the community. If you have nothing on the books, they
will say there is no rule for it."

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MIXED RULINGS

Here is a look at what some communities are doing in response to an
increase in requests for medical marijuana business licenses:

Garden City: Enacted a zoning ordinance requiring medical marijuana
businesses to locate in the commercial district and prohibiting them
in the central business district.

Grand Rapids: Enacted a six-month moratorium on licensing of any
medical marijuana business while the city considers a proposal
requiring dispensaries to be located in medical facilities or homes
but banning stand-alone dispensaries like those in Los Angeles.

Hazel Park: The city will hear a business proposal from a group in
January that wants to open a clinic, school and facility for picking
up and smoking medical marijuana in the city's industrial district.

Livonia: The city amended its zoning ordinance to prohibit the
licensing of any business that is in violation of local, state or
federal law. According to city officials, possession of marijuana
violates federal law, and the ordinance prohibits licensing any
medical marijuana dispensaries in the city.

Niles: The southwest Michigan city passed an ordinance in May banning
the consumption of medical marijuana at a primary caregiver's
location for cultivation or their legal residence. Another rule says
the location from where a caregiver provides services to a qualifying
patient cannot be within 1,000 feet of a drug free school zone.

Roseville: Passed a zoning ordinance which requires dispensaries to
be in commercial, industry or office districts. The law eliminates
residential use for a business and prohibits dispensaries from
locating within 1,000 feet of a church, school, zoned residential
district or other medical marijuana facility.

Royal Oak: Considering an outright ban on dispensaries as well as
requiring them to locate along Woodward Avenue in the commercial district.

Saginaw: The city approved a six-month moratorium on Dec. 7 on
medical marijuana business until the city enacts a land use ordinance
related to medical marijuana facilities.