SHERIFF CALLS MARIJUANA SMOKING CLUB 'A JOKE'

Williamston-Area Spot For Medicinal Users, Owner Says

WILLIAMSTON - It's not exactly the fictional bar from TV's
"Cheers."

But Wayne Dagit envisions his new club as a place where medicinal
marijuana users can belly up to a table, light up a joint and share
herbal remedies with other patrons who know their name.

The Green Leaf Smokers Club, a private members club, officially opens
its doors Monday at 530 E. Grand River Road in Williamstown Township.
Dagit maintains the club is the first medicinal marijuana smokers
club officially launched in Michigan, though there are many reports
of underground smokers clubs operating statewide.

"I'm not serving pot. I'm serving the Lord," said Dagit, 60, an
Okemos man who is a founder of the Church for Compassionate Care.

But Williamstown Township officials say they only recently learned of
the club and are now i nvestigating whether it's legal for it to
operate. And law enforcement officials say they are concerned the
club will lead to a rise in impaired driving among patrons.

"I think it's a joke," said Ing-ham County Sheriff Gene
Wriggelsworth, whose department handles law enforcement in the
county. "This is exactly what law enforcement said would happen when
they passed the (medicinal marijuana ballot measure). This has
nothing to do with medicinal marijuana. This has to do with getting
high."

Dagit, a medicinal marijuana user, said his main goal is to provide a
casual atmosphere in which users can bring their own marijuana,
medicate with others and form new relationships. The establishment
will not sell marijuana.

Under state law, medicinal marijuana users can grow marijuana for
themselves, or the state can authorize an individual to grow it for
them.

"(The club) is the greatest thing since sliced bread," said Bill
Jones, a 29-year-old Bath Township resident who uses medicinal
marijuana and joined the club Friday. "It's been taboo that people are
kind of afraid to talk to other people (about marijuana), and this is
a place for people do to that."

Members are asked to make a $20 annual donation to the club, and they
must present a state-issued medicinal marijuana card to prove they are
certified to use the herbal medicine or grow it for others, Dagit
said. He said a handful of members have been using the club in recent
days before Monday's opening. It features tables and couches where
patrons can lounge, wireless Internet for laptops and coffee and baked
goods.

Dagit said he moved to Michigan from Peoria, Ill., after Michigan
passed the ballot measure in 2008.

He uses marijuana to help treat liver deterioration from hepatitis
C.

Williamstown Township Supervisor Mickey Martin said she doesn't have a
problem with the club operating - as long as it's legal.

In recent days, she said, she has received calls from several
residents wondering about the legality of the operation, which is on
property zoned for light industrial use.

Martin said the matter has been referred to the township's legal staff
for review. She added she is "disappointed" that Dagit didn't contact
the township before announcing the enterprise.

The State Journal recently contacted the Michigan Department of
Community Health, which administers the medicinal marijuana program,
and the Michigan Attorney General's Office for clarification on what
kinds of marijuana-related businesses are allowed under the new state
law. Both declined to clarify the law.

Wriggelsworth said he doesn't understand why there is a need for a
smokers club, saying most people tend to medicate at home once they
fill a prescription at a pharmacy.

Dagit argued someone who consumes a Vicodin tablet, a prescribed pain
medication, presents more of a threat behind the wheel than someone
who takes a few tokes of marijuana.

"It's not a party," Dagit said. "We tell people that it is against the
law to drive (while impaired). They know that. We ask people if they
do ingest, that they would hang around a couple of hours."