BILL WOULD OUTLAW MEDICAL MARIJUANA BARS, CLUBS

A bill that would outlaw medical marijuana clubs and bars would
resolve some Livingston County officials' concerns about how such
facilities would fit into their communities.

But the proposal would only address one of many questions raised by
the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act, including how medical marijuana
can be dispensed, local officials said.

The act was made law in 2008, when voters approved a ballot
initiative to allow patients with debilitating illnesses to grow and
possess marijuana for medicinal purposes.

In late August, state Rep. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, introduced
House Bill 6394, which would prohibit organizing or operating a
"marijuana club" or a "marijuana bar."

The bill defines a marijuana club as a membership-fee organization in
which people smoke marijuana in a private place.

It defines a marijuana bar as any structure or land where people pay
a fee to smoke marijuana.

Jones' bill would exclude hospice operations, nursing homes and
locations where marijuana is legally dispensed under the medical marijuana act.

His proposal calls for misdemeanor penalties of up to 90 days in
prison, a fine of $500 or both, for violations.

The bill is one of at least seven pending in the Legislature that
would create new rules for people who use medical marijuana and their
caregivers.

Jones said the purpose of his bill is to prevent people from leaving
the clubs or bars and driving home under the influence of marijuana.

Livingston County communities continue to debate whether they need to
adjust their zoning rules to comply with the medical marijuana law.

At least six county communities have tackled the issue, including
Green Oak Township, Brighton Township, Hartland Township, Brighton,
Howell and Pinckney.

The Green Oak Township Planning Commission on Thursday will consider
recommending minor zoning-ordinance changes that would incorporate
state-approved medical marijuana use, possession and growth into the
township's rules for building uses.

Jones' bill doesn't address what constitutes a legal dispensary, or
how or where medical marijuana can be distributed, said Bob Moran,
chairman of the Green Oak Township Planning Commission.

Moran said the commission's goal is to protect the rights of approved
users and caregivers, but to prohibit related businesses that might
operate outside the 2008 law.

"We didn't feel as though you could put a prohibition on private
clubs and bars. As long is it's above board, there would not be an
issue," Moran said.

Hartland Township last month passed a six-month moratorium on all
permits, licenses and approvals related to either the sale or
dispensation of medical marijuana.

Hartland officials, meanwhile, are studying how to implement the
law's rules in the community, said Township Manager James Wickman.

Wickman said the 2008 ballot initiative didn't make clear how those
permitted to use medical marijuana can legally obtain it, and how it
can legally be distributed to approved users.

Applying all of the above concerns to local zoning rules is a
considerable challenge, Wickman said.

"It either needs to be clear or they need to provide the direction on
how to carry it out. That's lacking," Wickman said.

The city of Brighton also passed a six-month moratorium on the sale
and dispensation of medical marijuana for the same reasons.

Jones said he proposed his bill after police raided the Green Leaf
University Smokers Club in Williamstown Township just outside
Williamston in Ingham County, described as a dispensary and
compassion club for patients, in May.

Police didn't seize any of the drugs at the club itself, but arrested
the owner on drug charges after finding 150 pounds of marijuana at
his Okemos home - far more than allowed in the 2008 law.

"I immediately knew that something had to be done. They were just
getting people high and putting them right back on the road," Jones said.

If that logic were valid, Michigan should close all parking lots
outside Michigan's watering holes to prevent drunken driving, said
Greg Francisco, president and founder of the Michigan Medical
Marijuana Association.

Francisco said there is no evidence of a rash of car accidents fueled
by motorists under the influence of marijuana.

If anything, drivers under the influence of marijuana slow down and
overcompensate for their actions, Francisco added.

"We're not seeing this epidemic of mayhem on the roads from stoned
drivers. It's totally manufactured," he said.

"We do have a right to peacefully assemble. We are legal, law-abiding
people engaged in legal activities, and we do have the right to meet
as a group, as a community," Francisco added.

Jones countered that the intent of the law was to allow for marijuana
to be used as a medicine in homes of people permitted by the state to
use it, not in organized social settings.