MUNICIPALITIES BAN MEDICAL MARIJUANA CLINICS

Several local communities are just saying no to the potential opening
of medical marijuana facilities within their borders at least until
the smoke clears around current legal questions.

Michigan voters adopted a constitutional amendment making medical
marijuana legal about 18 months ago but possession, use, transport or
growing the drug is still a federal crime, leaving local
municipalities, and city attorneys, with more questions than answers.

"All cities in western Wayne are adopting the same kind of ordinance,"
said Northville Public Safety Director John Werth. Northville Township
trustees heard the first reading of an ordinance prohibiting medical
marijuana clinics last week.

In Westland, city council members heard a first reading of an
amendment to a zoning ordinance that would prohibit medical marijuana
dispensaries from operating in the city and are expected to approve
the second reading next week.

"The city has made a choice of prohibiting medical marijuana
dispensaries based on the belief that their existence within the city
would be detrimental from a public safety standpoint as well as the
negative effect on surrounding neighborhoods," said Westland Mayor
Bill Wild. "Similar ordinances have been recently enacted in
surrounding communities such as Livonia and Canton Township in
response to these same concerns," he added.

Voters' approval of Proposal 1 now allows patients who have been
issued a valid state registry identification card to cultivate up to
12 marijuana plants and possess up to 2.5 ounces of marijuana. If
registered patients do not wish to grow the drug, they can obtain
marijuana from a caregiver. These individuals do not have to be
licensed physicians or professionals and can assist up to five
patients, cultivating as many as 60 plants and possessing 12.5 ounces
of marijuana at a time.

Local officials are concerned that these "clinics" or dispensaries can
spring up in residential areas and that there are no state guidelines
for their operation.

The Westland ordinance was in response, Wild said, to requests to the
city building department for potential dispensary or clinic sites.
Wayne City Attorney Richard Clark agrees that there are still far more
questions than answers about the dispensaries.

"About two or three months ago we adopted a zoning ordinance in Wayne
to control the location of dispensaries-but this in no way should be
interpreted as an acceptance of them as legal.

Marijuana growing, transporting, possession or use is still against
the federal law," he said. "We based our ordinance on distance, 1,000
feet from a school, residence or church, uses that are just generally
not compatible with this type of thing," he added. In Canton Township,
the board of trustees also addressed the issue through zoning.
Supervisor Phil LaJoy said the township kept the zoning ordinance
pretty simple but effective when they adopted changes to it a few months ago.

"Our zoning prohibits any type of business that is not in compliance
with federal and state law," he said. That condition would ban
marijuana dispensaries which remain in violation of federal statutes
despite the state regulations.

In Plymouth, city commissioners took the same action about two months
ago, according to City Manager Paul Sincock. "We adopted an ordinance
which requires that all businesses must comply with all federal, state
and local laws. That pretty much took care of it," he said.

Werth said the legalization effort and subsequent state legislation
overlooked an important aspect of the issue. "They never considered
the issue of where you're going to get the drugs," he said.

Clark, and other attorneys, agreed that legal challenges can be
expected. "Nobody will know for sure what this all means until it
wends it's way through the courts," Clark concluded.