ACLU SUES CITIES OVER MARIJUANA BANS

Linda and Robert Lott want to grow marijuana in a Livonia warehouse
and smoke it at a private social club Bloomfield Hills.

They also want to smoke marijuana inside their home in Birmingham.

Linda, 61, suffers from multiple sclerosis. Robert, 61, was recently
diagnosed with glaucoma. Both husband and wife possess
state-certified cards qualifying them as medical marijuana patients.

Yet they claim local ordinances in the three communities won't let them.

"When Michigan voters passed the medical marijuana ballot initiative,
I was relieved," said Linda. "My doctor and I knew that it would help
me fight the muscle spasms and painful symptoms of multiple
sclerosis. What we didn't realize is that it would be temporary.
Instead of relief, I now live in fear that I could be arrested by
local officials for following state law."

On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan filed a
lawsuit against the cities of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and
Livonia on behalf of the Lotts. The lawsuit asks that the city
ordinances be declared invalid and unenforceable against medical
marijuana patients and caregivers who comply with the state law.

"The people of Michigan voted overwhelmingly in support of
compassionate care for patients like Linda Lott whose pain can be
eased by the use of medical marijuana," said Kary L. Moss, ACLU of
Michigan executive director. "In a democracy, city commissions do not
have the power to veto statewide ballot initiatives after they have
been approved by the voters and enacted into law."

Michigan voters overwhelmingly approved the Medical Marijuana Law in
2008. Since then, police and the courts have been scrambling for a
clear understanding of how the law is supposed to work.

In the case of Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills and Livonia, the three
communities adopted ordinances banning medical marijuana because it's
still classified as a controlled substance by the federal government.

Birmingham was served with the lawsuit on Thursday. City Attorney Tim
Currier said the City Commission will review the complaint and likely
discuss it in closed session Monday. He also plans on meeting with
Bloomfield Hills City Attorney Bill Hampton to go over the case.

According to the complaint, filed in Wayne County Circuit Court, the
Lotts own a warehouse in Livonia and are members of a private social
club in Bloomfield Hills where they take classes and meet with friends.

Birmingham police said they've never had an encounter with either the
husband or wife.