ROYAL OAK MEDICAL MARIJUANA ZONES ON HOLD

ROYAL OAK - The city put proposed medical marijuana zones on the back
burner indefinitely Thursday.

A zoning ordinance amendment that would allow "clinics" with special
land use permits in general business districts was pulled from City
Commission agendas on April 5 and now April 19.

Mayor James Ellison said elected officials need to focus on the
2010-12 city budget, which has a $16 million shortfall, before
dealing with gray areas of the state law passed to allow qualified
patients to use medical marijuana.

"We can hold off on medical marijuana," Ellison said. "We're still
waiting for the state to flush out the rules. But we've got to have a
budget in place by July 1. We've got a couple months of hard work
ahead of us on it."

Ellison also canceled his May 4 State of the City address until he
knows how the budget will be balanced. Layoffs, concessions,
retirements and service cuts are being discussed.

Eighty-four percent of Royal Oak's annual $37 million general fund
budget is spent on personnel. Cutting costs will mean cutting the
number of employees. Up to 72 municipal workers could be laid off,
including 35 police officers and 23 firefighters. That's a worst-case
scenario based on a level hit to all departments if no contract
concessions are reached and no retirements occur.

City Manager Donald Johnson is meeting with unions and preparing for
extra budget sessions with the commission, which are set for May 10, 12 and 20.

After the budget is passed, Ellison said he will be ready to talk
about the State of the City.

"I'd rather go out and say, 'This is how it's going to be,'" Ellison
said. "I want to have a handle on where we're at so the address will
be after July 1."

So will the proposed zoning amendment. On March 9, the Plan
Commission voted 7-1 to recommend the City Commission allow
caregivers to "receive" medical marijuana patients at "clinics"- a
change from the word "dispensary"- in general business districts only.

The proposed amendment would ban caregivers, who can grow up to 12
plants each for five qualified patients, from having patients visit
their house to get their medical marijuana.

The amendment wouldn't prevent caregivers from going to the houses of
qualified patients or a spouse/roommate who lives with a patient from
being the caregiver.

"As it's proposed, a caregiver can grow in a residential area but a
qualified patient can't go to their house. They can't distribute from
their house," City Attorney David Gillam said.

The legalization of medical marijuana got wide support from Michigan
voters in 2008 as a compassionate form of relief for patients
suffering from cancer, multiple sclerosis and painful diseases. They
can grow up to 12 plants for themselves or get it from a primary
caregiver, who can grow up to 60 total plants for five patients.

The state law doesn't address how caregivers will supply their
patients, however. Royal Oak is trying to set guidelines in its
zoning ordinance.

"It's not a perfect law but we're trying to give people the ability
to do it," Ellison said.

Planning Director Tim Thwing said the term dispensary was changed to
clinic to reflect its limited service compared to dispensaries in
California, which also sell paraphernalia.

Gillam put it this way: "The Planning Department wants to clarify the
actual function of use."

Police Chief Christopher Jahnke predicts the use of his department
will increase if Royal Oak allows medical marijuana clinics in
general business districts, which include Woodward Avenue, Main
Street north of the downtown, and some parts of Coolidge Highway and
14 Mile Road.

Jahnke recommends the city ban medical marijuana clinics instead of
regulating them. The chief points to Livonia's recently adopted
ordinance that prohibits businesses in violation of federal law. City
officials there say possession of marijuana violates federal law.

Royal Oak's elected officials also could declare a moratorium on
medical marijuana facilities.

"More and more places seem to be doing that," Gillam said. "A lot of
communities hope more direction will come from the state soon."

Roseville officials do. The Macomb County city is believed to be the
first in Michigan to amend its zoning ordinance to allow medical
marijuana dispensaries that can grow up to 60 plants in office,
business and industrial districts if the store or structure is not
within 1,000 feet of another dispensary, church, school or residence.

However, Roseville enacted a moratorium about seven weeks ago when
city officials learned the Michigan Department of Community Health
wouldn't monitor the product and record keeping, according to Glenn
Sexton, the city's building director.

"That department is the agency that regulates the Medical Marihuana
Act but they came out with a legal opinion that the act doesn't
address dispensaries so they are not going to regulate them," Sexton
said. "We issued a moratorium until the state health department works
out their issues."

Roseville had set up a number of restrictions on dispensaries.
Growing had to be done indoors and no one could enter except for the
operators, their employees, patients and guardians of patients under
the age of 18.

Smoking or consumption of medical marijuana wasn't allowed at the
site or in the vicinity and paraphernalia could only be sold to
qualified patients.

"I thought we had it all covered," Sexton said.