BATTLE CREEK PLAN PROBLEMATIC FOR MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES

BATTLE CREEK - The state may say medical marijuana is legal, but
Battle Creek, a city of about 50,000, intends to ban the dispensaries
by restricting their zoning and licensing.

The city's proposed rules would require clubs to obtain a city
license and not allow marijuana to be grown, distributed or used on
site. The clubs could only offer support services and would be
limited to certain commercially zoned areas.

"It'll shut us down," said Maggie Perrin, who runs the Cereal City
Compassion Club that opened last spring. "I know there has to be
regulations, but to prohibit us from dispensing meds, from helping
patients, that's what we don't want."

The proposal would mean that medical marijuana patients would be
restricted to buying pot from their personal "caregiver," a person
licensed by the state to grow the drug.

No pot is grown at the club. It makes most of its money by taking
marijuana grown by a network of caregivers and distributing it to a
network of patients. Perrin said the club has about 300 members, who
all pay a $10 annual membership fee.

Susan Bedsole, the city's director of licensing and compliance, said
the recommendation for now is to ban places for the distribution or
use of medical marijuana because that law doesn't specify that such
places are legal.

"What the state did was carve out an exception to that general rule
that (marijuana) is illegal," Bedsole said. "So if it doesn't say
that it's allowed, then it's still unlawful. And that's our position."

Michigan voters approved the state's medical marijuana law in November 2008.

Under the proposed rules, medical marijuana patients would be allowed
to use the drug only in their homes although some city officials have
asked for some kind of exception.

Patient Della Brown, 41, said that if she couldn't come to the Cereal
City Compassion Club, she'd have to smoke at home near her 3-year-old grandson.

"It's nice having a place to go to be able to medicate before I go
home," said Brown, who suffers from chronic pain. "And it's my choice
not to smoke in my house."

The proposed city licensing also creates privacy concerns because
Battle Creek officials would have a list of names and addresses of
state-licensed caregivers.

Matt Newburg, a Lansing lawyer who has advised cities and
organizations on the state's medical marijuana law, said state law
protects patient and caregiver information from public access, so
Battle Creek's ordinance could be problematic.

"This one requires somebody who is a patient or caregiver, who knows
that their information is protected from disclosure to walk into a
city or township and say, 'I'm here to apply for my license.' That
probably won't happen," Newburg said.