CITY RECONSIDERS BAN ON MEDICAL MARIJUANA FACILITIES

Developer's Bid to Convert Industrial Building Rejected

ROYAL OAK - The City Commission is asking the city Planning
Commission to consider a zoning ordinance that would ban all land use
for commercial production of marijuana.

On Aug. 9, the City Commission rejected a developer's bid to turn a
vacant industrial building into a "grow room" for registered medical
marijuana caregivers. The seven commissioners voted unanimously to
keep a 180-day medical marijuana moratorium, enacted in April, and
direct the city attorney to bring forth fact-finding to deny a
request to convert half of the 23,000-square-foot building at 2521
Torquay into a medical marijuana facility for 20 to 25 caregivers to
grow and collect in separate rooms.

Developer David Greene, vice president of First Commercial Realty &
Development Co. Inc. in Southfield, said the rejection is an affront
to the 63 percent of statewide voters and 73 percent in Royal Oak who
approved the passage of medical marijuana on the November, 2008 ballot.

"Michigan has made the manufacturing, distribution and consumption of
medical marijuana legal," Greene said. "This may be a problem for
some of (the commissioners). This is about the law, not about
personal feelings or opinions."

City Commissioner Chuck Semchena, who invited a Drug Enforcement
Agency representative to speak about incidents of increased violent
crime near grow and dispensary medical marijuana facilities in
California, made a second motion to have the plan commission consider
a recommendation for a ban on medical marijuana dispensaries, similar
to "the Livonia model" passed earlier this year.

The motion passed 6-1, with Semchena and the other city commissioners
who voted with the majority saying the law's language is vague and
doesn't specify whether it allows for growing and collecting, or just
distribution.

"The most frequent comment I hear from constituents is they thought
(they were approving medical marijuana use) with prescriptions,
written by doctors, and a pharmacy used to distribute marijuana,"
Semchena said. "(The law is) something much different than what was
anticipated. Medical marijuana has therapeutic use. It's the
methodology that creates the higher crime rates."

"The law is flawed, but still it's out there and that's what (Royal
Oak residents) voted for," Mayor Jim Ellison said.

City Commissioner Jim Rasor cast the lone dissenting vote, not
convinced the law is vague with such a strong majority in Royal Oak
voting for its passage.

"If we are voting on a Livonia model, where all uses are banned in an
entire city, I cannot support a motion," Rasor said. "I question the
wisdom of sending (the issue) back to the plan commission. What I'm
convinced of is the fact that we voted as a community, 73 percent of
(Royal Oak voters), and the state voted to pass that (too).

"(Voters) voted for every single word of the state law. It's not up
to the city of Royal Oak to nullify that law when voters didn't do
their diligence of reading the state law."

A medical marijuana ban could cost the city money in court, Rasor predicted.

"People are going to sue us," Rasor said. "We'll have to figure out
how to spend our tax dollars on lawsuits rather than police officers
and firefighters."

Robert Corso, a special field agent for the DEA, said the
neighborhood surrounding the proposed industrial building north of 14
Mile and between Crooks and Livernois, could experience the same
instances of crime as many grow facilities have experienced in
California since 1996 when the state approved medical marijuana.
Corso presented a litany of potential crime scenarios.

"What I'm afraid will happen in the streets of Royal Oak if
dispensaries and collective growers are allowed here is a lot of foot
traffic, undesirable people around dispensaries, you start smelling
the aroma of marijuana, neighboring businesses are going to complain
their business is suffering because the dispensary is next door,
armed and unarmed robberies, patients going in with money and coming
out with the product, street thugs rob you on your way in or your way
out," Corso said.

Corso also offered medical opinions, attributed to medical professionals.

"You'd be hard-pressed to find any medical doctor to prescribe
smoking as the medical delivery for any drug," Corso said.

Rasor objected to the speaking invitation of Corso, who said he spoke
as a "concerned citizen."

"It's not the federal government's right to come in here and tell us
what to do," Rasor said.

Greene wondered if the DEA could benefit through job security, if
medical marijuana facilities were prohibited.

"The DEA has interesting statistics," Greene said. "The DEA prefers
(the United States) importing 95 percent of its marijuana rather than
allowing us to grow legally under Michigan state law.

"No one ever overdosed on marijuana. Thousands of young people have
their stomachs pumped out or die from drinking alcohol. Alcohol is a
gateway drug, not marijuana. Creating areas to grow will produce less crime."