LANSING MIGHT PUT MEDICAL MARIJUANA ON HOLD

Some on City Council Calling for Moratorium on Law

It's too soon for Lansing to issue permits or licenses for medical
marijuana establishments growing, storing, using or distributing
medical marijuana, according to some City Council members.

Carol Wood, the council's public safety committee chairwoman, is
calling for a moratorium on any such possibilities because of
sentiments that more research is needed.

The 2008 voter-approved state law that legalized the use of medical
marijuana "makes it difficult for a municipality to enforce," Wood
said. "It's not been an easy venue for any of us."

She hopes to introduce an ordinance proposing a moratorium at next
Monday's meeting. Another goal is for the council to host a public
hearing and vote on Dec. 6.

The draft ordinance so far doesn't include a length of the potential
moratorium. Officials have considered a moratorium for several months
- - although, in September, the council approved an ordinance for
primary caregivers wanting to administer medical marijuana as a home
occupation.

Other communities, such as East Lansing, Grand Ledge and Leslie, also
are experimenting with moratoriums.

"That is a good idea," Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III
said. "It's not banning medical marijuana. It's just saying we're
going to put a hold on these establishments until we can figure a
licensing scheme.

"This is in no way, shape or form going to prevent people who need
medical marijuana from getting their medical marijuana."

Communities, he said, have essentially two routes - licensing and
zoning - to manage the new medical marijuana law. In some ways, he
said, licensing seems more effective because it would allow for
periodic review of operations.

Government officials continue to struggle with the issue of medical
marijuana. Grand Ledge has had a moratorium in place since May, which
officials extended for another three months in September. They wanted
to study how other communities are handling medical marijuana.

East Lansing extended its moratorium for dispensaries and primary
caregiving through Feb. 15.

"The act is well intended," said Darcy Schmitt, the city's planning
and zoning administrator, of the 2008 law. However, "it's missing a
lot of direction and it's missing a lot of definition.

"When you have that many holes in the act that you have to interpret
yourself, that can open a lot for legal battles in the future."

James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community
Health, said communities have the right to put the moratoriums in
place "until they figure out what they want to do."