TOWNSHIP CONSIDERS LICENSING MEDICAL MARIJUANA USERS

Local Ordinance Would Go Beyond State Law

Holland, MI - In a move to keep tabs on medical marijuana in Holland
Township, a proposed ordinance mostly would mirror state law except
in one significant way.

The township ordinance might also seek to require a business license
for all patients and caregivers.

"This is the discussion stages, and I don't want to cut my planning
commission out of this, that's for sure," Zoning Administrator Jon
Mersman said. The commission plans to discuss the measure at its next
meeting, at 7 p.m. Nov. 9.

Patients and caregivers already are required to register with the
state, and proposed township regulations are similar to those already
in place under the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act (sic), such as
requiring marijuana growers to be more than 1,000 feet from schools.

As far as the business license registration, medical marijuana
advocates aren't happy at the prospect.

"By the law, people can get into those records. ... So how are they
going to protect these patients?" asked Amy Gasaway, a medical
marijuana patient living in Park Township and a medical marijuana
advocate for West Michigan.

"That is just enticing someone to come to (a patient or caregiver's)
house. That poor patient or caregiver is going to be a statistic in
the community, whether it be a robbery or whatever."

She further contends the proposed ordinance would violate her rights
under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which
protects patients' private information.

Mersman concedes there is a question of privacy.

"Until my lawyers tell me different, that's kind of where I'm going,"
he said. "We would like to know where pot is grown in a neighborhood."

For instance, he said, the listing could help authorities determine
if a marijuana growing operation is legitimate. Mersman is
investigating the possibility of restricting public access to the
names of people who take out business licenses under this new regulation.

The license would require a fee based on how much time the township
would have to invest. For instance, will the ordinance require home
inspections to ensure marijuana growing operations are properly locked away?

That fee likely would be $150 or more.

Patients who grow marijuana for themselves and caregivers would have
to reside at the location where the marijuana is grown. Thousands
have signed up with the state program since it was voted into law in 2008.

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IF YOU GO

What: Holland Township Planning Commission will host a public hearing
will allow for comment on a proposed medical marijuana ordinance that
would require patients and caregivers to obtain business licenses.

When: 7 p.m. Nov. 9

Where: Holland Township Hall, 353 N. 120th Ave.