ROYAL OAK REJECTS PROPOSED MEDICAL MARIJUANA GROWING OPERATION

Moratorium Remains in Effect.

ROYAL OAK -- The City Commission rejected a proposal to open a
massive medical marijuana growing operation in a vacant industrial building.

The Royal Oak City Commission voted 7-0 Monday to keep in place its
moratorium on medical marijuana facilities operating in the city.

James Canner, managing partner for AFKF, LLC, had asked the city to
make an exception on the moratorium so he could turn a building at
2521 Torquay in the 14 Mile and Crooks area over to prospective
tenant David Greene. Canner's building is in foreclosure and he said
the medical marijuana moratorium presented him with a financial hardship.

Greene envisioned using the 23,000 square-foot building to house from
10 to 20 individual medical marijuana caregivers to grow up to 60
plants each in separate rooms.

If given the OK, Greene might have operated what could have been the
largest legal marijuana growing operation in the state.

Greene at times berated city commissioners during the hearing, which
started Monday night and went into early Tuesday morning.

"Michigan has made the manufacture of marijuana legal," Greene told
commission members. "If you find you are unable to comply with the
law you should resign."

Public comments on the issue lasted for three hours as dozens of
people on both sides of the issue addressed the commission.

"All we want out of the City Commission is to get our medication,"
said Robert Redden of Ferndale, a medical marijuana patient.

Most of those who spoke in favor of allowing the marijuana growing
operation were from outside the city, while most Royal Oak residents
at Monday's meeting opposed the move.

"A decision to allow Royal Oak to become host to the largest
marijuana grow facility in the state is disturbing," said Brett
Tillander, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Oakland County.

Rick Thompson of Center Line, editor of Michigan Medical Marijuana
magazine, said cities like Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills that have
banned medical marijuana dispensaries and grow operations outright
face legal challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Several commissioners and residents who voted for medical marijuana
on the state ballot in November 2008 said they never imagined
dispensaries and grow operations would be part of the reality of the law.

"We don't want grow facilities or dispensaries," said resident Madie
Lopez. She added that the ballot issue was a "bait and switch playing
on our emotions to help sick people."

Commissioner Chuck Semchena, a former Oakland County drug prosecutor,
said he has heard similar regrets from residents on the medical
marijuana law, which was passed by 63 percent of voters statewide.

"I hear from my constituents that they are disappointed they voted
for this," Semchena said.

Several commissioners in rejecting the proposal for the marijuana
growing operation said a hardship case exemption from the city
moratorium had not been met.

"I saw not one shred of evidence to support economic hardship," said
Commissioner Patricia Capello.

In a related move, the City Commission voted 4-3 to set a Sept. 20
hearing for a company called Mary Jane's Flowers that wants an
exemption to open a medical marijuana dispensary in a building on
Main Street right next door to Metals in Time on Main at Fourth
Street. The company has no tie to the floral gift shops in Royal Oak
and Ferndale with a similar name.

Royal Oak officials enacted a 180-day moratorium, which ends in
October, on medical marijuana facilities while they considered how to
deal the issue. Zoning restrictions on such facilities, short of
banning them outright, represent the greatest amount of control the
city might have on the businesses.

Semchena is pushing for a permanent ban on medical marijuana
businesses in Royal Oak. He introduced a zoning amendment for a ban
based on an ordinance Livonia passed which says that any business
which violates federal law is prohibited in the city.

Though 14 states have medical marijuana laws, growing, selling, or
possessing marijuana is still illegal under federal law.

The commission voted to pass Semchena's proposed zoning amendment on
to the city Planning Commission, which will conduct a public hearing
on the issue.

"I have no problem having another public hearing," said Mayor James
Ellison. "I don't know if the outcome will be what Mr. Semchena expected.