ROYAL OAK COMMISSIONER TO PROPOSE BAN OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES

ROYAL OAK - City Commissioner Chuck Semchena is pushing for a
permanent ban on marijuana as a permitted use anywhere in the city.

Semchena will call Monday for an ordinance that says any business in
violation of federal law is prohibited in Royal Oak at the same
meeting a landlord is seeking an exemption from the city's six-month
moratorium on medical marijuana dispensaries.

Possession of marijuana violates federal law. However, U.S. Attorney
Eric Holder has directed federal prosecutors not to pursue cases
against medical marijuana patients and their sanctioned suppliers in
the 14 states where voters approved medical marijuana.

Royal Oak was taking steps toward becoming one of the first cities in
Michigan to allow medical marijuana suppliers to locate in a general
business zone on Woodward Avenue until the temporary moratorium was
adopted in late April.

James Canner, the owner of a vacant warehouse across from Cummingston
Park, has said he can't wait for the moratorium to expire at the end
of October. Canner is scheduled to present an economic hardship case
Monday about how the moratorium is preventing him from leasing to a
potential tenant interested in using part of the building for a
medical marijuana growing operation.

The 23,000-square-foot facility in an industrial zone at 2521 Torquay
Avenue has been empty for two years. Canner has said he will lose it
to foreclosure if he can't rent it now.

At the hearing, Canner will ask the commission to make an exception
to the moratorium. The hearing will be limited to whether the
commission should exempt Canner's property. If the exemption is
granted, the tenant's plans for the building, which include dividing
it into locked rooms to sublease to medical marijuana growers, would
go to the Planning Department for review.

Semchena, a former drug prosecutor, opposes the exemption and is
urging his colleagues to consider an ordinance similar to the ban
passed by cities like Madison Heights, Birmingham, Livonia and
Bloomfield Hills.

"If drug manufacturers produced the medical marijuana, if doctors
wrote prescriptions, if pharmacists filled them, I wouldn't be doing
this," Semchena said. "I want adults to have this option to kill
their pain, but I don't think most of what is grown will end up in
their hands."

City Commissioner Jim Rasor opposes a permanent ban. He said medical
marijuana is legal to use in Michigan and he believes strongly in
states' rights.

"Michigan made a choice to allow medical marijuana, and I don't think
we should allow interference in our state's affairs on this issue by
Washington," Rasor said. "I am not in favor of the federal government
making all of Michigan's decisions for us, on this topic, or any
other. So if we pass a zoning ordinance that relies on federal law
rather than state law, what does that say about Michigan's rights to
make its own legislation?"

The state law passed by 63 percent of Michigan voters says qualified
patients can grow up to 12 plants for themselves or get medical
marijuana from a caregiver allowed to grow up to 12 plants each for
up to five patients.

"The amount is so excessive it ends up in the black market and that's
always associated with crime," Semchena said.

Rasor pointed out that more than 70 percent of Royal Oak voters
supported the 2008 ballot proposal.

"I don't see why we would want to zone something out of our community
that 70 percent of the residents want," he said. "While I appreciate
that you might be in the 30 percent that voted against it, majority
rules and a vast majority of the voters believe this is an
appropriate medical use for the substance. As a city commissioner,
can I ignore 70 percent of the residents when I vote on this issue?"

He invited a special agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to
Monday's meeting to talk about the possibility of increased thefts,
robberies, street dealers, driving under the influence of marijuana,
and organized crime if Royal Oak makes an exception for Canner or
allows medical marijuana dispensaries on Woodward from 11 Mile Road
to just south of Coolidge Highway.

"There's no reason the people living in high-density condos by
Torquay or the Shrine neighborhood should be exposed to this when
cities have an avenue to ban it under federal law," Semchena said.

Rasor said objections to dispensaries can be resolved to create a new
industry that creates jobs, fills storefronts, and pays taxes and
licensing fees.

"Many of these medical marijuana facilities are paying very large
licensing fees in other states," he said. "Would you seriously look
at an industry that is willing to pay licensing fees of
$25,000-$50,000 per year per facility in other states as a viable
industry for Royal Oak, especially when we are laying off police
officers and firefighters?"

If it acts on the proposed ordinance, the commission will refer the
matter to the Plan Commission for a public hearing, according to City
Attorney David Gillam.

The City Commission meets at 7:30 p.m. Monday at City Hall, 211 E. Williams St.