MARSHALL APPROVES POT BUSINESS MORATORIUM

MARSHALL -- Paul Sutherland will have to wait at least six months
before he can open a medical marijuana business in Marshall.

The Marshall City Council on Monday passed a six-month moratorium on
new medical marijuana businesses -- like the one Sutherland wanted to
start -- from opening in the city. Currently, no such businesses
exist in Marshall, said City Manager Tom Tarkiewicz.

The city of Battle Creek passed a similar ordinance July 6. Michigan
voters approved the Medical Marijuana Act in November 2008, which
legalized marijuana for medical purposes.

"I know lots of people who could benefit from legal available
marijuana here in Marshall," Sutherland said after the moratorium
passed. Sutherland's mother suffers from severe hip pain and could
benefit from a local clinic, he said.

"The young and the old shouldn't have to travel to Lansing or Ann
Arbor to get (marijuana)," he said.

Sutherland wants to open a medical marijuana business as soon as
possible, he said. It would be a place people could gather to discuss
the issue and the industry would bring revenue to the city, he said.

City Council members said they weren't necessarily opposing marijuana
dispensaries; they just wanted time to study the issue.

"I think the intent of this is readily apparent," said City
Councilman Jim Dyer at the meeting. "This is not an attempt to
prohibit this in any sense, but to adopt a proper regulation after an
appropriate time of study."

City code zoning regulations were approved in 2006, before the 2008
state law was passed. The City Council will discuss its options on
adjusting that code at a work session before the Aug. 16 meeting.

Ordinance changes could regulate the type or size of business allowed
in the city or the location of the business, for instance, Tarkiewicz said.

But before that happens, the city will gather public input, Tarkiewicz said.

Councilwoman Kathy Miller invited Sutherland to attend the August
meeting after he asked the council not to pass the moratorium.

Sutherland was not surprised by the city's decision. "They need to
examine what ordinances are on the books that are effective," he
said. "Other cities have done the same thing. You don't want a store
near a school, and there are other considerations, too. I plan to be
at the August 16 meeting."